rheumatoid arthritis resulting from childbirth

rheumatoid arthritis resulting from childbirth

is this common? trying to find info for a friend

TIA

Re: rheumatoid arthritis resulting from childbirth

RA cannot be gotten because of childbirth. however, if she had RA and did not know it which is extremly common she could have brought her disease to a head with the trauma the body goes through during childbirth. sometimes a trauma acts as a 'trigger' for certain diseases and causes them to finally emerge. this is common with RA, Ankolysing spondilitis, fibromyalgia etc etc. HTH

Re: rheumatoid arthritis resulting from childbirth

thanks. she had the baby 5 weeks ago (emergency c-section) and while at the dr recently she mentioned that she has been having joint pains. he told her that she might have developed rheumatoid arthritis. he is sending her to a rheumatologist for additional testing.

Re: rheumatoid arthritis resulting from childbirth

I have heard this as well. Pregnancy and childbirth can exacerbate any medical condition that is present or that may have been dormant but active in the body. It is also very common for women to feel pains similar to 'growing pains' after they deliver since your body is going back to a more normal size and ligaments and bones actually change their positions when you are pregnant and especially when you are delivering. I had joint pain for a few weeks after I gave birth and after a few weeks it went away. Everything gets stretched and moves around to accomodate the baby. Good luck to her.