Systemic lupus erythematosus and pregnancy

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) may improve, exacerbate or be unchanged during pregnancy. The activity of SLE at the time of conception has a major influence on pregnancy outcome: SLE patients with quiescent disease do well, while those with active, uncontrollable disease have a high abortion rate. There are specific autoantibodies that confer a high risk of abortion (e.g., IgG antiphospholipid antibodies). There are others, such as anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB, which confer a risk for neonatal lupus that includes lupus dermatitis, congenital complete heart block, thrombocytopenia and cholestatic jaundice, in order of their relative frequencies.