Pregnancy and kidney transplantation

Abstract

Despite decades of experience with child bearing in women with kidney transplants, these pregnancies remain high risk with an increased prevalence of hypertension and pre-eclampsia. Infertility, common in women with end-stage renal disease, is rapidly restored after transplant although pregnancy rates appear lower in transplant recipients than the general public. Many unanswered questions exist, some old questions such as what is the optimal timing of pregnancy after transplant, whether breast feeding is safe, the long-term impact if any on the offspring, and whether pregnancy negatively affects the kidney graft; and some new questions such as whether to modify immunosuppression in a patient taking a mycophenolic acid-containing drug, whether kidney donation has a deleterious impact on future pregnancies, whether to use erythropoietin-stimulating agents, and the role of BK virus. Counseling about contraception and pregnancy after transplant should be initiated during the pretransplant evaluation process. It is important because of the rapid restoration of fertility that occurs after transplant as well as the many risks and unanswered questions that remain.