Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease that predominantly affects women of childbearing age. Lupus occurs in greater incidence and severity in Spanish speakers, who also have higher rates of unplanned pregnancies compared with non-Hispanic whites.
Some medications prescribed to treat lupus can cause birth defects or developmental malformations in a fetus after exposure during pregnancy.
“You can have a healthy pregnancy with lupus, but you have to do it carefully,” said Leanna Marderian Wise, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of clinical medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). “You need the right regimen and have the disease under control for the best results…”
Read the full article here.
