Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome and pregnancy

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome can affect a pregnancy. If a woman with APS gets pregnant, she can experience multiple miscarriages or preeclampsia. Therefore, it is necessary for the patient’s obstetrician/gynecologist to work closely with the rheumatologist or other physician who can diagnosis a women with miscarriages due to APS.

Medications are available which may decrease the risk of miscarriages in a woman with APS. Some women are helped by combinations of aspirin and/or Heparin injections, whereas others continue to have miscarriages even with these medications. Treatment with a glucocorticoid, such as Prednisone, is usually avoided. This is because it is more likely than other medications to cause diabetes and an increase in blood pressure during pregnancy. Other treatments, including plasmapheresis or intravenous gammaglobulin, may be considered in individual cases.