Pregnant with MS,scared

[sadieForever]

So i am pregnant with ms,my ms has been mild before pregnancy and now during pregnancy thanks God ,i feel normal.I had a relapse right before i got pregnant(opticus neuritis)

My question is how did other mothers with Ms do after birth? did your ms become worse then it was before pregnancy?

[Kiyaan]

Hi Sadie,

As a man, I obviously can't speak to the subjective experience of pregnancy, regardless of it being in the context of MS or not (I feel like I'm stating the super obvious here, but I couldn't think of a joke to mask the redundancy ). However, in general, during pregnancy, the risk of a relapse goes down. This has been attributed to the protective effects of Estriol (the pregnancy hormone). Of course, after the mother gives birth, the level of Estriol goes down which could lead to increased disease activity. Ronda Voskuhl is probably the best known researcher in this field; indeed, she is part of a group investigating Estriol as a possible treatment for MS.

Now, I haven't done enough research to know if there is any data which purports to show that there is a marked difference between the pre- and post pregnancy disease activity levels; in other words, I don't really know (and I don't know if there is data available) that can tell us that the increase in disease activity after pregnancy is simply a "return to baseline" or whether pregnancy actually makes the disease more aggressive in some way.

In terms of personal experience, I watched my cousin give birth to three beautiful children and while she did experience a serious bout of optic neuritis after the first pregnancy was done, she was rock solid through the other 2 and, to my non-medically trained eyes, she looks very normal 5 years after the fact.

I wish you good luck, and as cliché as it may sound, try not to worry too much about it. Control the things you can control and forget about the rest. It's not always possible, but doing it that way is conducive to a much better quality of life, independent of MS and its possible progression.

[Snoopy]

Hi sadieForever,

My question is how did other mothers with Ms do after birth? did your ms become worse then it was before pregnancy?

Each of us will have a different experience and each pregnancy a woman has can possibly be different than the previous one. Relapses can happen during pregnancy or post-partum. However, not every woman will have a relapse.

I had two children after I was diagnosed. I didn't have a relapse during pregnancy or post-partum with either child.

[lyndacarol]

So i am pregnant with ms,my ms has been mild before pregnancy and now during pregnancy thanks God ,i feel normal.I had a relapse right before i got pregnant(opticus neuritis)

My question is how did other mothers with Ms do after birth? did your ms become worse then it was before pregnancy?

Welcome to ThisIsMS, sadieForever.

My comment is not specifically on the topic of pregnancy and MS, it is on the topic of pregnancy alone. Please ask your GP or OB/GYN to test your vitamin D level (with the "25-hydroxy D" blood test). Request your own copy of the test results – it is important to have the actual numbers. Doctors are only beginning to realize how very important vitamin D is to the developing child!

D*facts Pregnancy (7 min.) May 2007
Dr. Carol Wagner interviewed by Carole Baggerly (Wagner works with Dr. Bruce Hollis, vitamin D expert)


The woman should have her serum vitamin D levels checked.
Supplementation with 4000 IU vitamin D daily is recommended for pregnant women whose level falls below the 40-60 ng/mL range.

[ccbower88]

I agree with the others that everyone is different. I personally felt good/great during my pregnancies but had a terrible relapse after each. This was pre diagnosis so I wasnt on any treatment, are you on anything for your ms?

[sadieForever]

I agree with the others that everyone is different. I personally felt good/great during my pregnancies but had a terrible relapse after each. This was pre diagnosis so I wasnt on any treatment, are you on anything for your ms?

Nothing right now as i am pregnant,but i plan to return once i give birth.How are you know? what was your relapse?

[Wonderfulworld]

Hi Sadie
Congratulations! I 100% agree with Lyndacarol about vitamin D. Not only is fixing a deficiency good for you, it will be good for your child too. I wasn't on top of that 8 years ago when I had my son and I regret that - children with a vitamin D deficiency have a risk for MS too.

You have no way of knowing if you'll relapse after the birth but actively getting your vitamin D levels checked and up to normal will help. So will resting when you can, accepting help, not pushing yourself too much.

I relapsed 6 months after I gave birth but although my daily spasticity and pain went way up, and stayed that way, my mobility wasn't affected.

Hope it all goes really well for you. Being a Mum has been a wonderful experience for me.

[centenarian100]

As everyone has stated, the risk of relapse decreases during pregnancy but increases immediately after delivery. Whether or not you personally have a post-partum relapse is individual and unpredictable

If you have a relapse during pregnancy, you can receive IV solumedrol, but most doctors are very conservative because there is some risk of intrauterine growth retardation

having an epidural or c section does not increase your risk of having a relapse

there is some controversial evidence that exclusive breast feeding (using breast milk as the sole source of nutrition for the infant) may have a protective effect on post-partum relapses

I wish you the best of luck

-C

[Snoopy]

It's important for everyone to understand it is very possible to have an exacerbation (relapse, attack, flare-up) DURING pregnancy. Pregnancy does not protect or guarantee a woman will not have an exacerbation. There are many women who have experienced exacerbations during pregnancy.

The women that have an exacerbation during pregnancy are usually shocked because they have read and/or been told they won't have an exacerbation during pregnancy.