For women with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), treatment with a combination of heparin and aspirin during pregnancy—rather than aspirin alone—may increase live birth rates, according to new research.
Pregnancy Outcomes in Women with Idiopathic Inflammatory Myositis
New data from India suggest women with idiopathic inflammatory myositis are at increased risk of poor fetal outcomes and spontaneous abortions. In the study, researchers found these women had worse obstetric outcomes and increased risk of fetal complications…
Paternal Methotrexate Exposure Not Tied to Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A father’s exposure to methotrexate 90 days or less before conception “should not be of major concern,” researchers say. Prepregnancy paternal methotrexate exposure appears to confer no increased risk of major or minor congenital malformation, stillbirth or preterm birth in his offspring, their study found. Methotrexate is a first-line therapy for rheumatoid…
Autoantibodies in Pregnant Woman May Put Infant at Risk for Neonatal Lupus Erythematosus
A recent case study revealed that an infant from a donor egg developed neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) and a congenital heart block, which may have been due to the presence of antibodies to Ro and La in the birth mother—not the genetic mother. The results suggest that a gestational mother with a history of autoimmune disease is sufficient to trigger the pathology of NLE…