Table.
Clinical Characteristics of Study Participants at Onset of Pregnancy, During Pregnancy, and in the Post Partum Period
| No. (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Women With MS and Postpartum Relapses (n=15) | Women With MS Without Postpartum Relapses (n=11) | Healthy Women (n=24) | |
| Baseline characteristic | |||
| Age, y, median (range) | 33.1 (25.4–41.1) | 32.6 (26.5–37.1) | 32.8 (23.4–39.2) |
| Disease duration, y, median (range) | 5.5 (1.8–20.8) | 4.3 (1.6–16.8) | … |
| Relapses during 2-y period prior to conception | |||
| 0 | 4 (27) | 2 (18) | … |
| 1 | 3 (20) | 4 (36) | … |
| 2 | 6 (40) | 3 (36) | … |
| 3 | 2 (13) | 1 (9) | … |
| Time since last relapse, mo, median (range) | 15.0 (1.2–48.5) | 13.2 (1.4–22.2) | … |
| MS medication use | 11 (73) | 5 (45) | … |
| Pregnancy | |||
| Timing of MS relapses | |||
| First trimester | 2 (13) | 0 | … |
| Second trimester | 0 | 1 (9) | … |
| Third trimester | 0 | 0 | … |
| Postpartum year | |||
| Breastfed | 9 (60.0) | 9 (82) | 23 (93)a |
| MS medication use | 10 (66.7) | 6 (55) | … |
| Timing of MS relapses | |||
| Months 0–4 | 12 (80) | … | … |
| Months 5–8 | 1 (7) | … | … |
| Months 9–12 | 7 (47) | … | … |
Abbreviations: ellipses, not applicable; MS, multiple sclerosis.
a
P value=.03 between women with MS (regardless of relapse) and healthy women; all other factors were not significantly different between any group (P>.20).