Vasculitis, Fertility, and Pregnancy
Presented: October 29, 2015
Speaker: Megan, Clowse MD, MPH
Click here to watch the webinar.
One of the most common questions women with vasculitis ask is how this disease will affect their ability to have children. Unfortunately, there is limited reliable information regarding pregnancy with vasculitis, which is of great concern for both patients and physicians. In this webinar, Dr. Clowse discusses current research addressing fertility and pregnancy for women with vasculitis.
Dr. Clowse is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University, and Director of the Duke Autoimmunity in Pregnancy Clinic. In this clinic, she has followed more than 300 pregnancies in women with rheumatic disease over the last 8 years. She began her career studying pregnancy in women with lupus during her Rheumatology Fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She now focuses on improving the management of rheumatic disease, including vasculitis, prior to and during pregnancy. Her primary goal is to help women with rheumatic disease build the families that they desire, despite their illness.
Dr. Clowse is the principal investigator of the Vasculitis Pregnancy Registry (V-PREG), which was launched on November 6, 2015. V-PREG is an electronic, patient-reported prospective pregnancy registry. Every woman who enrolls in this study brings knowledge and better understanding one step closer. We recognize that many women with vasculitis want to participate in research but cannot participate because of a variety of barriers. That is why V-PREG and the V-PPRN have made it easy for women to participate in this important research online.
Together, we can help expectant mothers with vasculitis. Clinical research can help answer the most important questions, and is a critical tool to improve outcomes for expectant mothers with vasculitis.
