Women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their infants experience higher rates of adverse obstetric and birth outcomes, according to a study published in Arthritis Care & Research. Namrata Singh, MD, MSCI, FACP, and colleagues compared obstetric and birth outcomes and rehospitalization (within 2 years) among 1,223 women with RA, 1,354 women with SLE, and unexposed women, along with their infants. Women with RA/SLE more often required rehospitalization, most notably within 6 months postpartum (RA: 4%
vs 2%; relative risk [RR], 2.22. SLE: 6% vs 2%; RR, 2.78). Musculoskeletal conditions (RA:HR, 19.1. SLE: HR, 29.8) were responsible for the most maternal postpartum rehospitalizations. Infants of women with SLE experienced more frequent rehospitalizations in their first year of life and also had more malformations (9% vs 6%; RR, 1.46) and increased mortality of less than 2 years (RR, 2.11).
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