Pregnancy/Birth slows progression of MS?

Source: Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, BBC Health, MS Society

Controversy on the MS (Multiple Sclerosis) front.  Multiple Sclerosis is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system which can cause severe disability and death.  A joint Belgian and Dutch study tracking 330 women with MS over the course of 18 years suggest that for those who became pregnant and gave birth, severe disability associated with MS took longer to develop.

This is stark contrast to prior studies which have long supported the notion that MS worsens following pregnancy and birth.  The MS Society has issued a statement suggesting “flaws” in the study and too small a sample size. But there was some concession that the release of hormones during pregnancy could have a beneficial effect on the immune system and its ability to fight MS.

Researchers say that women who gave birth to one or more children prior to the onset of their MS Symptoms were 34% less likely to progress than those women who remained childless.  Moreover (legal speak for “also) women who had children AFTER their MS became symptomatic were 39% less likely to progress than childless women.

Put this one down as too early to say, but consider those lifetime decisions carefully now that there is more information emerging. As always, consult your physician before electing to become pregnant, with or without symptomatic MS.

~Posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esquire