Mean gestational age and birth weight similar in babies born to women with or without MS
FRIDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- For pregnant women, multiple sclerosis (MS) is not associated with adverse pregnancy or birth outcomes, according to a study published online June 27 in the Annals of Neurology.
Mia L. van der Kop, from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and colleagues examined whether the risk of adverse neonatal and delivery outcomes varies in women with or without MS and the association of risk with clinical factors of MS. Data from the British Columbia (BC) MS Clinics' database and the BC Perinatal Database Registry from 1998 to 2009 were examined, and comparisons were made between births to 432 women with and 2,975 women without MS. Gestational age, birth weight, assisted vaginal delivery, and cesarean section were the primary outcomes. Age at MS onset, disease duration, and disability were the clinical factors assessed.
The investigators found that the mean gestational age and birth weight of babies born to women with MS did not differ significantly from babies born to women without MS. There was no significant association between MS and assisted vaginal delivery or Cesarean section. There was a slightly, but not significantly higher risk of adverse delivery outcomes in women with MS who had greater levels of disability. Adverse outcomes were not significantly associated with disease duration or age at MS onset.
"This study provides reassurance to MS patients that maternal MS is generally not associated with adverse neonatal and delivery outcomes," the authors write.
Several of the study authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.
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