[Pregnancy in cystic fibrosis patients--investigational study]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the consequences of pregnancy on women with CF and to clarify the impact of the disease on newborn health.

It was a retrospective study; a postal questionnaire was sent to 12 woman having a registered pregnancy in National Cystic Fibrosis Registry between 1984 and 2004 (2 to 23 years after delivery).

There was a 100% response rate. 16 pregnancies have been reported (4 patients had two pregnancies); there were 16 live births of which 11 (69%) were premature, 10 (62%) of newborns had low weight. There was one neonatal death. The mean prepregnancy FEV1 (% predicted) and BMI (kg/m2) were 56,6 +/- 14,8% (range 35-95) and 19,9 +/- 1,5 (range 18-23) respectively. The mean FEV1 during pregnancy was 47,7 +/- 15,1% (range 23-87), mean maternal weight gain during pregnancy was 5,5kg. There was a significant decline in FEV1 during pregnancy (16.6 +/- 6,4%, p<0.05) as compared to prepregnancy values. Two women had diabetes mellitus and two developed gestational diabetes. Mean postpregnancy (12 months after delivery) FEV1 was 54.1 +/- 18.8% (range 22-103) and mean BMI was 18.7 +/- 1.8 kg/m2 (range 15-22). There was a significant postpregnancy decline in FEV1 (6.2 +/- 10.6%, p=0.027) and in BMI (1 +/- 1.14 kg/m2, p<0.01) as compared to prepregnancy values. Microbiological status remains unchanged. 11 patients are alive; one patient died 11 years after delivery. The mean follow up time was 8.5 +/- 3.6 years (range 2-23).

Pregnancy was well tolerated in our population of CF women, although affected the rate of yearly decline in FEV1 and BMI. Increased risk of premature and low newborn weight were observed. All pregnancies in CF women should be planned and monitored by CF team.