Pregnancy in Women With Preexisting Glomerular Diseases: A Single-Center Experience

Abstract

AimWomen with glomerular diseases are often of childbearing age. Besides lupus nephritis, data regarding pregnancy in patients with glomerular diseases are limited, posing a challenging task to attending nephrologists. This study aimed to investigate the pregnancy outcomes and the impact on the underlying glomerular disease among women followed in our institution.MethodsA single-center retrospective cohort study of women with biopsy-proven glomerular diseases who experienced pregnancy between 2010 and 2020. We analyzed data before, during, and after gestation.ResultsA total of 22 women, 13 women with primary and 9 women with secondary glomerular diseases, were included in this study. Most patients (82%) had received immunosuppressive treatment at various times before pregnancy. All the women were in remission, either complete (62%) or partial (38%), with well-preserved renal function (82%) before conception. A total of 30 live births and 1 stillbirth were recorded; the rate of preterm delivery was 23%. Renal function and proteinuria remained stable during pregnancy. Preeclampsia was observed in 6.7% of patients and disease relapse in 6.9% of the pregnancies.ConclusionPregnancy was associated with a low frequency of adverse events in women with underlying glomerular diseases, provided they have quiescent disease and preserved renal function.