Pregnancy Complications of Neuromyelitis Optica

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) often affects women of child-bearing age, and guidance is needed on best practices for a safe pregnancy and healthy child. To provide natural history information, researchers retrospectively studied 60 women with NMO and 126 pregnancies. Information on miscarriages (loss of intrauterine pregnancy within 24 weeks) was available for 40 women and 85 pregnancies.

Immunotherapy was used during only 8 pregnancies. Twenty-two pregnancies occurred after clinical onset of NMO; the remainder occurred before first presentation. Clinical or serologic evidence of other autoimmune diseases was present in 63%, and 17% had multiple autoimmune conditions. Overall, miscarriages occurred in 13% of pregnancies, similar to the general …