Neonatal lupus is a
rare condition that is probably caused by a mother who
has systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) transfers her
antibodies during pregnancy to the unborn baby. Neonatal
lupus is a separate disorder from childhood lupus.
Neonatal lupus does not cause arthritis, fever, and
kidney or brain disease.
The newborn baby with neonatal lupus may develop a red
skin rash, liver disease, anemia (low red blood counts),
and/or low white blood cell counts and low platelet
counts (thrombocytopenia). In addition, neonatal lupus
may cause congenital heart block, which may make a
pacemaker necessary to regulate the electrical system of
the baby�s heart.
Thankfully, neonatal lupus does not develop into SLE,
and in most cases, is not serious. Neonatal lupus most
frequently ends by the time the child reaches six months
of age.
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The risks of a child
developing neonatal lupus are small. Neonatal lupus is
very rare and only women who have either anti-Ro or
anti-La antibodies ever have a lupus pregnancy. If a
mother has only anti-Ro antibodies, she has a 25% chance
of having a lupus pregnancy.
In a lupus pregnancy, the mother should inform her
doctor if she has anti-Ro (SS-A) or anti-La (SS-B)
antibodies (1/3 of lupus patients have these antibodies)
because these women have a 25% risk of having a baby
with neonatal lupus. If the mother has both types of
antibodies, her chances of having a lupus pregnancy
increase dramatically. But even when a mother has lupus
during pregnancy, the majority of babies are born
perfectly healthy with no complications. In a subsequent
pregnancy, the chance of her baby contracting neonatal
lupus is one in four. The risk of having neonatal lupus
is not increased based on the severity of symptoms in
the mother during pregnancy.
A blood test is done after birth to determine if the
baby has neonatal lupus. If the baby has a low platelet
count, anemia or other blood problems, neonatal lupus
may be diagnosed. This is not usually a serious
condition, however, because the symptoms usually go away
after treatment.
Help Your Body Heal Itself
Neonatal lupus
commonly has the symptom of a red rash, usually all over
the baby's body that presents itself from a couple of
days to a few weeks after the birth of a child in a
lupus pregnancy. The rash may show up after sun exposure
but usually goes away in a few weeks, leaving no
telltale signs. Many babies develop rashes, so the only
way to tell if the baby has neonatal lupus is to do a
biopsy. This is not necessary, however, because the rash
usually just goes away by itself.
The only real serious problem in neonatal lupus is when
a child develops a congenital heart block. This is when
scar tissue blocks the path from the upper heart (the
atria or auricles) to the lower heart (the ventricles),
forcing the ventricles to have to beat on their own.
Normally, the newborn's heart beats at 140 times per
minute, but in neonatal lupus patients, the heart beats
at the slower rate of 60 beats per minute. This makes
the neonatal lupus baby have an abnormally slow pulse.
In pregnancy with a lupus patient, congenital heart
block can be diagnosed between the 15th and 25th week.
Treatment can be done during the pregnancy to help the
unborn baby by administering cortisone to the mother,
which then transfers to the baby via the placenta.
However, it may be safer to deliver the baby if the
pregnancy is at least 30 weeks along because these
babies often have no problems and require no treatment
once they are born.
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