Pregnancy does not appear to increase the risk of serious disease flare-ups for most women with myasthenia gravis, according to a new study published in American Academy of Neurology journal Neurology. Researchers found that while a small proportion of patients experienced worsening symptoms after giving birth, pregnancy itself was not associated with a greater likelihood of hospitalisation due to the condition.
The Swedish registry-based study analysed 176 pregnancies in 112 women with myasthenia gravis between 1987 and 2019. Investigators compared hospital admissions related to the disease during pregnancy and in the year following childbirth with admissions in the year before pregnancy.
Researchers found no increase in hospital admissions during pregnancy compared with the pre-pregnancy period. Among those who did require admission, there was also no evidence that hospital stays were longer while pregnant. These findings may help reassure patients who may have delayed or avoided pregnancy due to concerns about worsening disease.
The postpartum period showed a slightly different pattern. While most women remained stable after giving birth, 19 pregnancies, representing 11%, required at least one hospital admission for myasthenia gravis in the year after delivery. This compared with 12 pregnancies, or 7%, in the year before pregnancy. After adjusting for factors such as disease duration, researchers found a fivefold increase in the likelihood of serious flare-ups during the first year postpartum compared with before pregnancy.
| Sign up to the ACNR email newsletter here |
Despite this increased relative risk, nearly 90% of women had no hospital admissions linked to myasthenia gravis after childbirth. More than half of those who were admitted during one postpartum period later had another pregnancy without requiring hospital treatment, suggesting that exacerbations are not inevitable.
The authors noted that the study captured only flare-ups severe enough to require hospitalisation or increased medication, meaning milder symptom changes were not included. Overall, the findings suggest pregnancy is generally safe for women with myasthenia gravis, although monitoring may be especially important during the months following birth.
This news item has been summarised using AI and checked by humans before publication.
Sources
| Sign up for our online community for neurology specialists |
Read more about Myasthenia Gravis in pregnancy, in Georgina Burke’s article published in ACNR: Myasthenia Gravis and pregnancy
