High risk of unplanned pregnancy in women with SLE

According to a recent report many women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are at risk of unintended pregnancy. Introducing their study the authors note that women with SLE should carefully plan their pregnancies "because they have a higher risk of adverse outcomes of pregnancy than women without SLE, and pregnancies among women with active lupus are less likely to result in a live birth." To investigate further 309 women with SLE aged 18-50 years were surveyed using a 13-item, anonymous survey. In total, 212 women (69%) completed the survey. Of these, in the past three months, 97 (46%) had faced some risk of unintended pregnancy. Fifty-three reported at least one occasion on which they had unprotected sex, and 22 reported that in the last three months they had unprotected sex most of the time. None of the women described having used emergency contraception after unprotected sex. Of those surveyed 22 women identified a desire to discuss birth control with a health care provider at their lupus centre. The authors conclude, "These findings suggest that systems which ensure that women with SLE receive accurate information about the safety and efficacy of available contraception options … may prevent a significant number of unintended pregnancies that may be medically complicated." Reference...