Can someone with lupus have a baby?

Today, most women with lupus can safely become pregnant. With proper medical care, you can lower the risks of pregnancy and deliver a normal, healthy baby. However, you must carefully plan your pregnancy. Your disease should be under control or in remission for 12 months before you get pregnant. Find an obstetrician (OB) who is experienced in managing high-risk pregnancies and who can work closely with your primary HCP. Plan your delivery at a hospital that can manage high-risk patients and provide the specialized care you and your baby may need. Talk to your doctor about which medicines are safe to take while pregnant.

Women with lupus may face certain problems during the pregnancy. While flares are not caused by pregnancy, flares that do develop often occur during the first or second trimester or during the first few months following delivery. Most flares are mild and easily treated with small doses of corticosteroids. Another complication is pre-eclampsia. If you develop this serious condition, you will have a sudden increase in blood pressure, protein in the urine, or both. This is a serious condition that requires immediate treatment, and you might have to deliver your infant early.

Babies born to women with lupus have no greater chance of birth defects or mental retardation than do babies born to women without lupus. As your pregnancy progresses, your OB will regularly check the baby's heartbeat and growth with sonograms (an machine that creates pictures of your baby's organs). Although giving birth to your baby early (prematurity) presents a danger to the baby, most problems can be successfully treated in a hospital that specializes in caring for premature newborns. About 3% of babies born to mothers with lupus will have neonatal lupus.

Breastfeeding your baby is safe for mothers with lupus. If you are on medications and breastfeeding, talk with your provider about how the medicine might affect your baby.

I've known many people who have had a child or two that had Lupus.
The best thing to do is ask your doctor to have a more confidant answer.

I recently tested positive to lupus, however, so far it is only affecting my skin, hair, and joints. Therefore, as long as it's under control like it is, my doctors have agreed that under a controlled situation it may be possible. However, I also have five blood clotting disorders so they wish for me to wait until the Oral Lovenox medication becomes cleared through the FDA so I can be switched to it.

I guess it really depends on how severe the lupus is and what organ systems are affected. Your doctors would be the best to give you a detailed answer. I know a girl who has two beautiful children and suffers from lupus every day.

Yes, you just have to be closely monitored by your doctor while pregnant, because while undergoing such major changes you could very easily get sick.

Yes you can, but please consult with your rheumatologist and ob/gyn first. Some of the meds we take can be dangerous to the fetus. If you have antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, the associated clotting issues can cause miscarriages.

That said, I have lupus and am a grandmother. And I know quite a few other women with lupus who have had successful pregnancies.