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Nov. 14, 2006 (Washington) -- Pregnant women who have lupus are at greater risk for serious complications -- including infection and death, according to the largest study ever to look at pregnancy outcomes in lupus patients.
However, this sounds far worse than it is, experts tell WebMD. Such complications still occur infrequently.
Most women with lupus will have healthy pregnancies and babies.
The new research was presented Tuesday at the 2006 annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in Washington, D.C.
Among its findings: Pregnant women with lupus are 20 times more likely to die, and they're four times as apt to develop eclampsia, a serious condition often accompanied by seizuresseizures.
"Women with lupus need to be followed very carefully by a rheumatologist and a high-risk obstetrician, but the majority if women with lupus can -- and will -- have a successful pregnancy and deliver a healthy baby," says researcher Megan Clowse, MD.
"I definitely don't think we should prevent lupus patients from getting pregnant because the majority of women who have lupus and become pregnant will do well throughout their pregnancy," says Clowse, who is an assistant professor in the division of rheumatology & immunology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
An autoimmune disease, lupus can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, nervous system, and other organs. It's 10 times more common in women than men and typically strikes women in their prime childbearing years.
The study used a national database to compare risks faced by pregnant women with and without lupus. Researchers examined the records of the more than 17,000 women with lupus who gave birth during 2000 to 2002.