Monday 30 July 2012

Morphea in pregnancy

Morphea  is a localized form of scleroderma which is more common in females than males.
It usually occurs between 3rd to 5th decade, though can occur early also.

There is no much data regarding morphea in pregnancy, according to available studies around 24% of abortion rate reported
And also there is around 71% normal deliveries, so there is no sufficient data to tell exactly the relation between morphea and pregnancy.



as morphea is localized form it affects mainly skin, affecting internal organs is somewhat less, but the risk cannot be completely excluded,

morphea on left side affected the development of  striae of pregnancy and growth to some extent


women with morphea usually have sub-fertility and in case of pregnancy they will be affected more in third trimester usually.
complications that can develop in third trimester:
rapid development of hypertension,
renal failure,
preterm labor,
malabsorption, increased constipation,
growth retardation of the baby, anomalies can also occur because of medicines used by mother etc,
as it affects blood vessels by causing proliferation of connective tissue, inflammatory response and leading to fibrosis of vessels it can affect the growth of the placenta and also its function.

but with proper follow up most of these can be prevented.
 pregnancy can be properly managed with,
-regular antenatal checkups,
-including checking for blood pressure and edema, assessing cardiopulmonary, renal and gastro-intestinal systems, symptomatic treatment for musculoskeletal problems,
-nutritional diet etc.