# Pregnancy & CFS



## Susan Purry (Nov 6, 2001)

Posted to the Co-Cure email list (www.co-cure.org)


> quote:*A Comparison of Pregnancies That Occur Before and After the Onset ofChronic Fatigue SyndromeJournal: Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:401-404.*Authors: Richard S. Schacterle, PhD; Anthony L. Komaroff, MDAffiliation: From the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care,Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard MedicalSchool, Boston, Mass. The authors have no relevant financial interest inthis article.*Background* Many women with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) fear thatpregnancy will worsen their condition, increase the risks of maternalcomplications of pregnancy, or threaten the health of their offspring.Little empirical evidence, however, has been published on this matter.*Methods* A detailed questionnaire was administered to 86 women regarding252 pregnancies that occurred before or after the onset of CFS and theoutcomes of these pregnancies were observed.*Results* During pregnancy, there was no change in CFS symptoms in 29(41%), an improvement of symptoms in 21 (30%), and a worsening ofsymptoms in 20 (29%) of 70 subjects. After pregnancy, there was no changein CFS symptoms in 21 (30%), an improvement of symptoms in 14 (20%), anda worsening of symptoms in 35 (20%) of the subjects. The rates of manycomplications were similar in pregnancies occurring before the onset andin those occurring after the onset of CFS. There was a higher frequencyof spontaneous abortions in the pregnancies occurring after, vs before,the onset of CFS (22 [30%] of 73 pregnancies after vs 13 [8%] of 171before; P [less than] .001), but no differences in the rates of other complications.Developmental delays or learning disabilities were reported more often inthe offspring of women who became pregnant after, vs before, the onset ofCFS (9 [21%] of 43 children vs 11 [8%] of 139 children; P = .01).*Conclusions* Pregnancy did not consistently worsen the symptoms of CFS.Most maternal and infant outcomes were not systematically worse inpregnancies occurring after the onset of CFS. The higher rates ofspontaneous abortions and of developmental delays in offspring that weobserved could be explained by maternal age or parity differences, andshould be investigated by larger, prospective studies with controlpopulations.


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## Susan Purry (Nov 6, 2001)

Are there any other women without children here that are in a quandry about having children because of their CFS? I'm fairly ambivalent at the moment about having children, but my health (as well as career, financial situation and other things) will be a major deciding factor either way. The thought of being a mum to young children and then the ME/CFS relapsing is just unimaginable, even if I was with a partner who could do most, if not all of the care-giving.


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## M&M (Jan 20, 2002)

Susan,Thank you so much for posting this!!! Mr. Mason would absolutely love to have children (3, to be precise), but I'm just too scared. The actual being pregnant part doesn't scare me too much, niether does the birthing process. What does scare me is the parenting part. I just can't imagine being able to do it. When I'm too sick to get out of bed, a baby or toddler will still be up and raring to go.







I'm glad to know that the pregnancy process isn't much worse for CFIDS patients though. I would love to have kids one day...We'll see.


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## *Luna* (Nov 19, 2001)

Thanks for the post. I don't worry too much about being able to care for my children despite fatigue, but I do worry about having the energy to juggle that with other things, like working, so we are trying to wait until a point where there are some nice savings in the bank and hoping that I'll be able to just work a little, maybe just selling on ebay or a part=time job with very limited hours. I also worry about my IBS-D symptoms getting worse during pregnancy. If I can't take some of the drugs I take now to control it, working could be MUCH harder, and add in nausea and/or fatigue and I'm worried I wouldn't be able to work as much as I'm expected to at my current position. One thing I have noticed about Moms...their kids are the most important thing to them and somehow they find the energy they need to take care of them. Other things might fall by the wayside, but their kids are always cared for.I wanted to add--my fibro is pretty mild right now, but I definitely have days when I feel 20 years older than I should. For this reason I want to wait until we are ready to have kids, but not wait too long... I think I'll be able to handle a toddler much better at 30 than I would at 40!


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## Logiebear (Mar 25, 2004)

HiI have had moderate to severe cfs for the past 12years and I also had my 1st baby 6 months ago.For me pregnancy and CFS didnt mix well at all and was extremely draining.However I know other women with cfs who had great pregnancies and births, I think it really depends on the severity of the cfs when you get pregnant. For me it is very difficult looking after my baby and my partner is currently home on parenting payment helping to look after him.The biggest thing you need is an understanding partner and a network of family around you to help with the baby and to give you a break, the worst thing about a baby is the sleep deprivation and if possible try to get your partner to do nightshift for you as this will make a big difference on how you feel. I would suggest just have one baby and give it a couple of years before deciding to have another.I am only having one because my body would not handle another pregnancy or child, but this is all individual of course.Anyway good luck to you allP.S. I run a M.E./CFS and Pregnancy support group at: http://embark.to/pregnancy if anyone is interested in finding out more and speaking to others in the same boat.Gayle


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## Susan Purry (Nov 6, 2001)

Correction to the article I posted.


> quote:After pregnancy, there was no changein CFS symptoms in 21 (30%), an improvement of symptoms in 14 (20%),* anda worsening of symptoms in 35 (20%) of the subjects.*


That should actually read 'and a worsening of symptoms on 50% of the subjects'. The percentages actually add up now, and it makes a lot more sense!







Gayle, thanks for the link to your site! What a fabulous resource.


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