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Since multiple sclerosis commonly affects young women, it is important to know whether pregnancy places patients at risk for relapse, but studies have been limited. The European Pregnancy in Multiple Sclerosis study prospectively assessed documented relapse rates in 254 women during pregnancy and for one year post partum. Neurologists compared pregnancy relapse rates with rates during the year before pregnancy.
The mean relapse rate was 0.7(plusoverminus)0.9 per women per year in the prepregnancy year. Relapse rates decreased slightly in the first and second trimesters and substantially in the third trimester (0.2(plusoverminus)1.0, p<0.001). During the first three months post partum, the rate increased to 1.2(plusoverminus)2.0 (p<0.001) and…