Multiple Sclerosis

Good news for moms-to-be with MS

The results of a new study show that pregnant women with multiple sclerosis are no more likely to have pregnancy problems such as pre-eclampsia and premature rupture of membranes than women in the general population. Additionally, pregnant women with MS are only slightly more likely to need cesarean deliveries than women who do not have the condition. The study is published in the November 18 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study author, Eliza Chakravarty, MD, MS, of Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, CA, notes that the results are reassuring for women with MS. Women, and in fact even doctors,  have been uncertain about the effect of MS on pregnancy, she explains. Some women have chosen to delay pregnancy–or even to avoid pregnancy altogether because of the uncertainty.

“We found that women with MS did not have an increased risk of most pregnancy complications,” Dr. Chakravarty said.