Rheumatoid arthritis: Does pregnancy affect signs?

Rheumatoid arthritis signs usually subside during pregnancy.

By Mayo Clinic Employees

Quite a few ladies with rheumatoid arthritis, a problem in which your immune program mistakenly assaults your body’s tissues, report enhancement in their signs during pregnancy. Quite a few also report a flare-up of signs immediately after childbirth, usually within just the to start with 3 months.

Researchers are researching why these variations arise. For the reason that ladies are additional very likely than men to develop rheumatoid arthritis, a person theory is that female sexual intercourse hormones, estrogen and progesterone, engage in a part.

But ladies who just take medicines made up of estrogen — as element of their oral contraceptive or hormone replacement treatment for menopause — usually really don’t have any alter in their rheumatoid arthritis signs.

For the duration of pregnancy, the mother’s immune program variations to protect against the rejection of the fetus. Researchers are researching whether these variations may possibly be related to an enhancement in rheumatoid arthritis signs.