Managing pregnancy in chronic kidney disease: improving outcomes for mother and baby

Alyssa Fitzpatrick,1 Fadak Mohammadi,2 Shilpanjali Jesudason1–3 1Women’s and Babies Division, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, 2Central and Northern Adelaide Renal and Transplantation Service, Royal Adelaide Hospital, 3Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Abstract: Parenthood is a central focus for women with chronic kidney disease, but raises important fears and uncertainties about risks to their own and their baby’s health. Pregnancy in women with background kidney disease, women receiving dialysis, or those with a functioning kidney transplant poses a challenging clinical scenario, associated with high maternal–fetal morbidity and potential impact on maternal renal health. Improvements in care over recent decades have led to a paradigm shift with cautious optimism and growing interest regarding pregnancies in women with chronic kidney disease. In this review, we discuss obstetric and renal outcomes, and practical aspects of management of pregnancy in this complex cohort. Keywords: renal, obstetric, fetal, transplant, drug