Rheumatic diseases often affect women during their reproductive years, when pregnancy is an expected event. For years, doctors urged those with potentially serious systemic autoimmune diseases not to get pregnant.
Today, we know that, with careful medical and obstetric management, most of these women can have successful pregnancies.

Successful, however, does not mean uneventful. Doctors and women should be prepared to deal with potential complications for both mother and child. In addition, women should not consider becoming pregnant until their rheumatic disease is under control.

Women with rheumatic diseases can face unique challenges during pregnancy and are often at greater risk for pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, preterm delivery and low birthweight infants.

Additionally, many of the medications traditionally used to treat rheumatic disease are contraindicated during pregnancy.
While the symptoms of some rheumatic diseases, such as RA, may improve during pregnancy, other disorders, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, are more likely to flare. Moreover, pregnancy itself can cause symptoms of joint pain and fatigue that mimic rheumatologic disorders. Women with SLE, and in some cases, RA, are at greater risk for pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia, preterm delivery and low birthweight infants.

Finally, the management of women with rheumatologic disorders during pregnancy can be challenging, as many of the medications traditionally used to treat rheumatic disease are contraindicated during pregnancy.

Mothers should not reduce or discontinue medications on their own.