May 30, 2016 /
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Expert Tips on Managing Pregnancy in MSDoctors should try to alleviate the anxieties that patients with multiple sclerosis have about fulfilling their dream of a family, an expert says.
Medscape Medical News, May 29, 2015
NDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — When a patient with multiple sclerosis (MS) wants to get pregnant, chances are she’ll turn to her neurologist for advice.
Doctors shouldn’t discourage these women from fulfilling what for many is a life-long dream of having a family, according to Maria Houtchens, MD, assistant professor, Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, director, Women’s Health Program, and staff neurologist, Partners MS Center, Boston, Massachusetts.
A specialist in managing MS during pregnancy, Dr Houtchens shared some information and tips with delegates during a clinical course here at the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) 2015 Annual Meeting.
No Guidelines
Pregnancy is an important and often complex issue for patients with MS. Of the 500,000 patients with MS in the United States, two thirds are women, most of whom are diagnosed before menopause. Half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned.
There are no evidence-based practice guidelines for managing patients with MS during pregnancy, said Dr Houtchens. Care during this period varies “dramatically” depending on the knowledge and comfort level of caregivers, she said.
Women wanting to have a baby are concerned about passing on MS to their offspring and about the effect on the fetus of drugs they have taken to control their disease. But perhaps their biggest worry, she says, is how they will raise a child should their disease worsen.
“They worry about how to manage their symptoms and care for the child at the same time,” she said.
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