Pregnancy and MS

[K__0]

  I am 24 years old, have MS, and would eventually like to have children.  My mother (as well as the rest of her side of the family)  had extremely difficult pregnancies which included a vaginal breech delivery, a miscarriage, toxemia, and my delivery at six months (weighing one pound).
  With this in mind, I was wondering if MS has ever caused problems in pregnancy and in the actual delivery of a child.  Are there heatlh problems that can occur because of MS?
  I know I should probably see a high-risk doctor when the time eventually comes.
  Thanks.
Dear K:
Sorry to hear about your MS, but best of luck with your coming children.  I guess you can figure out what my answer is already.  Actually, it is a difficult question to answer, especially not knowing how bad your MS is and what type of manifestation you have.  I must say that I have several friends (who are not my patients) who have multiple children and whose MS actually did not have any effect, in fact if you ask any of them, they felt like their MS actually got better.  But, I have heard of stories where there have been problems with exacerbations.  I have read about problems during delivery, but actually have never seen a problem.  Most of the MS physicians around here do not see a problem with pregnacy or delivery in a MS patient.  However, this must be taken into account of your family history.  What your mother went through does not necessarily mean that you will have the same problems.  What you need to do is to follow closely with your neurologist and OB doctors before and during the pregnancy.  Best of luck and let us know if it is a boy or girl.
Sincerely,
CCF Neuro[P] MD, RPS