Autoimmune Diseases and Pregnancy

My very good friend was diagnosed with lupus after her first child was born. She went on to have two more children in 3 years, no miscarriages, no problems. She was monitored more closely, but otherwise had very normal pregnancies and babies. Good luck!

My best friends sister had a few pregnancies that she ended up losing the babies she would go into preterm labor & the baies were still born she seemed healthy thye were looking for a diagnoses at that time unsure of what symptoms she had if any as time went on she was tested for Lupus she doesn have it now she has a daugther she is very small has several medical conditions developmentally delayed in all areas I haven't seen her in a while so unsure how she is but having Lupus complicated her pregnancies now her baby has medical problems & will for the rest of her life.
I hope you find out what is going on I went through alot of testing after my 2nd child was born it took almost a year to find out what I have been going through.

I have an autoimmune disease (Crohn's disease) and my children were perfect. For many autoimmune sufferers, pregnancy either a. makes the disease better, b. makes it worse, c. you stay the same.

They have found that the more genetically DIFFERENT your child is from you, the more likely it is that you will NOT get worse while carrying them. So, hopefully you married someone whose background (family tree) is not a carbon copy of yours. So for me, I am Irish, English, Dutch, French (x2), German and Native American (x2). My husband is Italian, Portuguese and English. Doctors told me that it was good that we genetically crossed only along English lines because it lessens the chances that my children will inherit the disease.

Good thing we American's are all immigrants (except Native Americans) and mixed heavily! From a medical perspective, it IS good to add in new immigrants from other countries to our breeding pool.

I should add though, that many autoimmune sufferers that did well in pregnancy, get very ill AFTER the birth, so it is critical to be ready to treat the disease the second you are no longer pregnant. With my second pregnancy, I stayed on Remicade and let me tell you - it was worth it! My son had a great birth weight and I did not get a flare-up after his birth. I breastfeed him on Remicade as well, which has finally been approved for both breastfeeding and pregnancy.

I was diagnosed with possible MS (then confirmed 6 months later) in my 8th month of pregnancy. Although it is unusual to have a flare during pregnancy, I was initially very scared, but my symptoms went into remission and I started medication a few months after giving birth. It has not been a terrible burden as of yet, and did not seem to affect my pregnancy at all. Every night when I take my shot (which I was used to, since my son is in vitro), my husband and I talk about what we are grateful for during the day. That way we bring a daily recognition of the good things in our lives that coincides with my medication, and it has been a very positive thing to do, as I was very used to focusing on the things I was angry about during the day, before my diagnosis. It is good to try to focus on overall health, exercise, lowfat diet, and I signed up for Google alerts emails re: MS so that I get information regarding MS research around the world in an email every day. Initially it was scary, but this is a very good time to be sick, if you have to be sick, as there is quite a bit of treatment out there and more every day. The internet has helped researchers share info very quickly and that helps a lot with advances. The MS Society has been a great resource, helping with everything from seminars on money management to marriage therapy. And of course, once I had the baby, he was so active and engaging, I only really focused on my condition when I took my medication or read the pamphlets or library books regarding MS. However I did write about the experience, which gave me an interesting piece of writing and a therapeutic outlet. But I've found that so far the scariest time was the initial diagnosis, not the actual three years since. It's natural to catastrophize about the future, but isn't it Mark Twain who said he spent years worrying about things...and some of them actually happened. :) Good luck and feel free to contact me. I'm sure we'll be fine :).

What type of autoimmune disease are we taking about?

I have Rhuematoid arthritis....
The only real issue I had was that I needed to be off my meds for a certain amount of time before getting pregnant.
If you have an over agressive immune system like Rhuematoid Arthritis, it shouldn't be a problem. Your immune systems aggression calms down naturally during pregnancy to protect the baby. I still have flareups but they don't in anyway effect the child.
If you have a weak immune system then you need to be careful about YOUR health. Talk to you doctor about it. I can only give you so much information without knowing what you have. Good luck!!

I have had MS since I was 29. At 36 and 38 I had my two kids. I am n ow 45. I went on medication at at 32 and went off for the two pregnancies. I was extra healthy during the pregnancies and my body was very strong. I then went back on medicine after that. I am still fine. They are actually studying pregnancy and how if strengthens the body. I took the essential oils during pregncncy and nursing for me and the babies. I also, specifically, did not vaccinate the kids because of my fear of any sensitivity they may have. They never get sick and only go to the doctor once a year fot their well kid visitis. They maybe go one other time and do get sick, but they colds go away.

Let me know if you want any more information.

D.

MS runs in my family. My uncle died from it, my 27 yr old sister is disabled with it and I have the scar tissue in my brain from what is suspected to be it. My sister carried 2 normal pregnancies, both while being on experimental drugs that kind of ruined the effectiveness of the birthcontrol she was on. She also breastfed both until atleast 6 months. She made the comment that she actually felt "normal" while pregnant, that something about the pregnancy hormones helped her body out. If you have any further questions, feel free to PM me.

My brother has MS. He has shared with me that some women have a reset of their system during pregnancy after which the disease goes into remission. In other cases, I have heard of pregnancy bringing on the disease. I pray you'll have a complete remission and a stress-free pregnancy.