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 British Journal of Dermatology found that pregnant women with psoriasis may be at increased risk for pregnancy complications and the rate of miscarriage is 15% to 20% and some dermatologists will warn you about it.
It turned out that this study was false and these days many publications contradict it. It’s now known that methotrexate does not affect a woman’s long-term potential of conceiving a healthy child. Neither does psoriasis affect your chances of getting pregnant, rates of miscarriage, birth defects, or premature birth.
If a woman is having issues getting pregnant it’s because of other comorbidities and not psoriasis alone. Psoriasis is also not necessarily recessive. A third of the people with psoriasis have a family history of the disease. But that doesn’t mean a child born to someone with psoriasis will get it either.
Does Psoriasis Get Better During Pregnancy?
Many people had told me that my psoriasis would ameliorate while I was pregnant. The research indicated that nearly 75% of women will see no change in their symptoms, but psoriasis never cleared up during pregnancy. One study of 47 pregnant women with psoriasis found that 55% saw an improvement in their symptoms, but 23% reported that their symptoms worsened.
While I guess it could sometimes, it didn’t happen in my case. Sadly, I was in the 23% whose psoriasis had worsened by a TON. So quit comparing yourself to other mommas who had the best pregnancy ever with no psoriasis flare-ups.
Should I Stop My Psoriasis Medications?
That’s a tricky question and it really depends on which doctor you ask. Unless it’s methotrexate, then the answer is a definite yes.
The problem with psoriasis, even severe, is that this condition is treated differently than other autoimmune diseases. For instance, if you’re suffering from Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis, you’re more likely to get biological drugs and treatment covered by insurance companies as it’s classified as necessary.
For psoriasis, treatments are often classified as ‘experimental’ and aren’t covered or are partially covered which is very unfair. That said, many doctors will tell you that you can survive without your medicine. While you obviously can survive without your medicines, your quality of life will naturally decline enormously.
I’m not even talking about the psychological consequences of having a flare-up, as the two nails that fell off this morning don’t bother me anymore after many years, but physical issues. If you’re constantly in pain, itching, with open wounds everywhere and skin peeling from your scalp it’s not really the best position for a mother to care for a newborn.