Rheumatic diseases should be actively treated in pregnancy, new guidelines say

New guidelines on prescribing anti-rheumatic drugs for pregnant and breastfeeding women, published in the Rheumatology journal, warn against withdrawing potentially beneficial treatment and recommend the best treatment approaches.

Prescription of many anti-rheumatic drugs in pregnancy is complicated by safety concerns, and this has sometimes led to the withdrawal of potentially beneficial treatment. But the new guidelines, produced by the British Society for Rheumatology and British Health Professionals in Rheumatology,1 2 say …