While I wasn’t originally planning on writing more posts on psoriasis, when I got pregnant I realized that there isn’t much information out there on pregnancy with psoriasis.
What’s even worse is that the vast majority of gynecologists and obstetricians don’t really know much on that topic, since naturally, they cannot know everything about every type of illness and medicine that can correlate, or not, with your pregnancy.
If you start reading any forums, all you’re going to find out is that everything will kill you as it’s dangerous, you’ll feel the worst of your life when pregnant, and just wait until you have a baby because then you definitely won’t have a life. Sounds exciting to become a mom, doesn’t it?
Disclaimer: This post is written based on medical research and my personal experience. Please keep in mind that one person’s experiences might be different from mine.
Don’t Feel Scared to Get Pregnant and Have a Baby
One thing I’ve learned during pregnancy is that other pregnant women and moms love to scare others. Everyone will have an opinion and tell you that you get certain symptoms. Truth to be told, every pregnancy symptom I was surely going to have according to other moms, I did not get.
How come? Because everyone is different, and while your doctor or research will tell you about some common symptoms it does not mean that you, in particular, will feel the same way your friend did or didn’t.
Why am I telling you this? If you’re reading this post it means that you’re either curious about my psoriasis story or have psoriasis (or really any other autoimmune disease) and want to find out what’s going to happen to you and your baby during pregnancy. And this can be scary!
Psoriasis and Pregnancy: Everything You Need to Know
My Experience with Psoriasis During Pregnancy
While I’m not a doctor, I was forced to self-treat my severe psoriasis for years and learned a lot in the process. Not from online forums or WebMD, but from real medical papers and studies.
Methotrexate & Pregnancy
I was on methotrexate for over a year, when I decided that I wanted to get pregnant. Methotrexate for psoriasis is very dangerous for pregnancy and this is why many doctors require you to get on birth control and do regular pregnancy tests to make sure you won’t get accidentally inseminated.
While it’s unlikely that your baby survives, as methotrexate is used to treat ectopic pregnancies and to cause spontaneous abortion, if it somehow does then it might be seriously damaged. This is why it’s really important to get off these meds.
Is It Harder to Get Pregnant with Psoriasis or Other Autoimmune Disease?
Before my pregnancy, I was given misinformation that my methotrexate therapy and psoriasis could affect my fertility. A study published in the