MONDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnancy is generally safe
for women with multiple sclerosis, a new study says.
Canadian researchers analyzed 432 births to women with MS and
almost 3,000 births to women without MS in the province of British
Columbia between 1998 and 2009. They found no significant
differences in either timing of delivery or birth weight between
babies born to women with MS and babies born to mothers without the
illness.
The likelihood of vaginal or caesarian delivery was the same for
both groups of women, but mothers with MS who had greater levels of
disability had a slightly elevated risk of adverse delivery
outcomes. However, the difference was not statistically significant
and further research is needed, the study authors said.
"Our finding that MS was not associated with poor pregnancy or birth outcomes should be reassuring to women with MS who are planning to start a family," study author Mia van der Kop, a member of the MS research group at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, said in a journal news release.
Her team noted that women with MS were more often overweight or
obese, which is associated with greater risk during pregnancy and
birth. These women should ideally lose weight before they become
pregnant, the researchers suggested.
The study is published June 27 in the journal
Annals of Neurology.
More information
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has more about
pregnancy and reproductive issues.