Myopic CNV & Pregnancy

[ukmyope]

I am 41 and have high myopia (-10 L and -12R) with a recently diagnosed lacquer crack and CNV in the left eye (treated with 2 shots of Lucentis). This has been a great shock and has left me with many anxieties about the future, but my question here relates to pregnancy. I am a breastfeeding mother (to a one-year-old) and had been considering one more baby before I'm past it! However my consultant says that pregnancy may stimulate angiogenesis (blood vessel growth) and cause further CNV. Needless to say, protecting my eyesight is now paramount, so should I abandon any thoughts of another baby? There seems to be virtually no research on this topic.

[Shannabana]

What did you decide? I'm 39 with myopic cnv and had to stop breastfeeding with the avastin injection. Had to go home and take a pregnancy test before they would give me the injection. Had to go on birth control and husband has vasectomy schedule now too. But I already have five children so the decision is easy for me to stop having children. I read a study, it only had three women though, but the avastin did not affect the outcome of the pregnancy. I seriously would not pursue having more children though. Too risky. I'm sorry, I hate this cnv.

[JohnHaganMD]

Before Avastin, Lucentis and Eylea when CNV developed good vision was usually lost for good. These meds are one of the most important developments of ophthalmology in the last 25 years

[JohnHaganMD]

It is virtually impossible to do controlled studies on pregnant women. Pregnancy often makes diabetic retinopathy worse. You will have to go on the advice of your eye MD retina surgeon.  You alone can decide if the risk to your eyesight is worth having a middle age baby which itself has risks to the child of an older mother.