Mothers with rheumatoid arthritis have slightly smaller babies

Body measurements of babies who are born to women with rheumatoid arthritis or pre-clinical rheumatoid arthritis (the period prior to symptoms) are only slightly lower in children exposed to maternal or preclinical rheumatoid arthritis. But they are 1.5 times more likely to be born prematurely, says research published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
If the father has rheumatoid arthritis there is no impact on growth or prematurity.
Researchers from Denmark researchers looked at records of 1,917,723 children born between 1977 and 2008. A total of 13,566 children were exposed to maternal rheumatoid arthritis or preclinical rheumatoid arthritis. Findings included:
• Children (2,101) born to mothers with rheumatoid arthritis had similar measurements (birth length, head and abdominal circumference) at birth compared with babies of mothers without rheumatoid arthritis.
• In mothers with rheumatoid arthritis, birth weight of the baby was 87 grams (3oz) lower and placenta weight was 14 grams (0.5oz) lower than babies born to mothers without the disease.
• Researchers found rather similar results in children (11,455) exposed to preclinical rheumatoid arthritis.
• Compared with unexposed children, researchers determined preterm birth risk was higher in children exposed to maternal rheumatoid arthritis and pre-clinical rheumatoid arthritis with an odds ratio of 1.48 and 1.32, respectively.
“Obstetricians should be aware of the increased risk of preterm birth in women with rheumatoid arthritis and among those with preclinical signs of the disease,” explains Ane Rom, who led the work. “For women with rheumatoid arthritis, we found only a small reduction in fetal growth in their babies, which has little impact on the children immediately following birth.”

Image credit: Jens Bergander

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