Women with R A have Babies of Lower Birth Weight

During pregnancy, women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) typically experience an improvement in symptoms. Recently, a large population study was conducted to understand this connection and to determine the effect on fetal outcome. 

One hundred and thirty women with rheumatoid arthritis were recruited throughout UK and were followed from late pregnancy to eight months after giving birth. Babies born to mothers with RA showed no significant differences in head size and body length than babies born to mothers without RA. However, babies born to women with RA did have lower average birth weights than babies born to women who did not have arthritis. Those women who were in remission also had significantly heavier babies than those with the active disease. Since there is some continuation of disease activity, usually milder during pregnancy, concern has developed as to whether there is an effect on fetal growth. 

The results suggest, although rheumatoid arthritis improves in most women during pregnancy, it still can have a negative effect on birth weight.