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Rheumatic Disease Does Not Preclude Pregnancy

Ruth Jessen Hickman, MD  |  Issue: November 2017  |  November 9, 2017

For the moment clinicians will need to synthesize information from a variety of sources to provide the best information for their patients. The May issue of Rheumatic Disease Clinics of North America gives a thorough summary of a variety of issues related to women’s reproductive health, including more detailed information on contraception, preconception counseling and pregnancy.


Ruth Jessen Hickman, MD, is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Medicine. She is a freelance medical and science writer living in Bloomington, Ind.

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References

  1. Kavanaugh A, Cush JJ, Ahmed MS, et al. Proceedings from the American College of Rheumatology Reproductive Health Summit: The management of fertility, pregnancy, and lactation in women with autoimmune and systemic inflammatory diseases. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2015 Mar;67(3):313–325.
  2. Birru Talabi M, Clowse MEB, Schwarz EB, et al. Family planning counseling for women with rheumatic diseases. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2017 Apr 24.
  3. Østensen M. Contraception and pregnancy counselling in rheumatoid arthritis. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2014 May;26(3):302–307.
  4. Østensen M, Brucato A, Carp H, et al. Pregnancy and reproduction in autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2011 Apr;50(4):657–664.
  5. Finer LB, Zolna MR. Declines in unintended pregnancy in the United States, 2008–2011. N Engl J Med. 2016 Mar 3;374(9):843–852.
  6. Sammaritano LR. Contraception in patients with rheumatic disease. Rheum Dis Clin North Am. 2017;43(2):173–188.
  7. Yazdany J, Trupin L, Kaiser R, et al. Contraceptive counseling and use among women with systemic lupus erythematosus: A gap in health care quality? Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2011 Mar;63(3):358–365.
  8. Chakravarty EF. What we talk about when we talk about contraception. Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Jun 15;59(6):760–761.
  9. Chakravarty E, Clowse ME, Pushparajah DS, et al. Family planning and pregnancy issues for women with systemic inflammatory diseases: Patient and physician perspectives. BMJ Open. 2014;4(2):e004081.
  10. Ferguson S, Trupin L, Yazdany J, et al. Who receives contraception counseling when starting new lupus medications? The potential roles of race, ethnicity, disease activity, and quality of communication. Lupus. 2016 Jan;25(1):12–17.
  11. Britto MT, Rosenthal SL, Taylor J, Passo MH. Improving rheumatologists’ screening for alcohol use and sexual activity. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2000 May;154(5):478–483.
  12. Toomey D, Waldron B. Family planning and inflammatory bowel disease: The patient and the practitioner. Fam Pract. 2013;30(1):64–68.
  13. ACOG Committee on Practice Bulletins—Gynecology. ACOG Practice Bulletin Number 73: Use of hormonal contraception in women with coexisting medical conditions. Obstet Gynecol. 2006 Jun;107(6):1453–1472.
  14. Stringer EM, Kaseba C, Levy J, et al. A randomized trial of the intrauterine contraceptive device vs hormonal contraception in women who are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007 Aug;197(2):144.e1–8.
  15. Curtis KM, Tepper NK, Zapata L, et al. U.S. medical eligibility criteria for contraceptive use, 2016. MMWR. 2016 Jul 29; 65(3);1–104.
  16. Andreoli L, Bertsias GK, Agmon-Levin N, et al. EULAR recommendations for women’s health and the management of family planning, assisted reproduction, pregnancy and menopause in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and/or antiphospholipid syndrome. Ann Rheum Dis. 2017 Mar;76(3):476–485.

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Filed under:Conditions Tagged with:Autoimmune diseasecontraceptivecounselingEducationInflammatory MyopathiesLupusoutcomepatient carepregnancyRheumatic DiseaseRheumatoid arthritisrheumatologistriskSystemic sclerosisVasculitisWomen

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