Having A Healthy Pregnancy When You Have Addison's Disease

Posted on: 18 December 2019

Having Addison's disease doesn't mean that you can't have a normal pregnancy. If you've had the rare autoimmune disease for a while, and have been managing it well, then your pregnancy should go well. However, you should be aware of a few things and may need to make a few changes to ensure that both you and the baby stay healthy. Here are some questions and answers about pregnancy and Addison's disease to help you maintain a healthy pregnancy and, in the end, have a healthy baby.

Does Addison's Disease Make Pregnancy Harder?

If you have been managing your disease well, and your hormone levels are stable, then you should have a reasonably normal pregnancy like any other woman without Addison's disease. Complications are more likely to happen if you are either un-diagnosed, or your condition is poorly treated. These complications include greater chance of low birth rate, miscarriage, or preterm birth.

Does Pregnancy Make Addison's Disease Worse?

Because your adrenal glands are already malfunctioning or destroyed, your condition is unlikely to get worse with pregnancy. However, the stress of pregnancy and caring for a new baby make require you to temporarily increase your medications to compensate. However, this would be no different than fully functional adrenal glands making more hormones for the same reason.

Can One Get Addison's Disease During Pregnancy?

Anyone can develop Addison's disease at any time in life, but pregnancy won't increase or decrease your chances of having it. However, if you develop Addison's disease during pregnancy, then the condition will be harder to diagnose because the symptoms mimic common pregnancy complications. So you must make extra sure that your condition and baby is monitored for other signs of Addison's disease as your pregnancy progresses.

What Needs to Be Done to Ensure a Healthy Pregnancy?

The good news is that, if you are otherwise healthy, you shouldn't need to do anything extra to have a good pregnancy. Make sure you don't miss any of your pregnancy appointments or appointments with your regular doctor to monitor your hormone levels. You doctor may increase your medications later in your pregnancy as needed.

There is nothing you should fear if you want to have a baby and have Addison's disease. Your baby will be healthy as long as you manage your condition. Before planning a pregnancy, see your doctor as soon as possible to check your hormone levels and make adjustments. Then, see your gynecologist and obstetric doctor regularly to ensure that he baby is developing normally.

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