Symptoms of myasthenia gravis (MG) may get worse during the first three months of pregnancy and in the months after the baby is born, according to a recent review published in the Journal of Neurology.
In women, MG often starts during the years when they can have children, so the condition can be influenced by pregnancy. To learn how pregnancy affects MG and what problems might happen during pregnancy or after birth, researchers looked at 34 studies that included 3,720 pregnancies in women with MG.
Out of 842 pregnancies that had clear information, about 30% of women had worse symptoms, most often in the first trimester, which is the first three months of pregnancy. After the baby was born, about 27% of women had worsening symptoms during the postpartum period.
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Compared to women in the general population, women with MG were also more likely to give birth by cesarean section or need special help during vaginal delivery, such as using medical tools.
Out of the pregnancies studied, about 9% of births happened before full term (meaning that babies were born early). Out of 1,530 babies, about 9% developed neonatal MG, a temporary condition that can make the baby weak after birth. Because of this risk, babies born to mothers with MG should be monitored carefully after birth.
However, the researchers note that it is difficult to reach strong conclusions about pregnancy and MG because the studies used different methods and definitions, making it hard to compare their results.
“Prospective studies [studies that follow a group of patients over time] are required to generate stronger evidence and optimize patient care in future,” the review’s authors said.
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