Rheumatologists don’t always ask their female patients this question, but, according to US rheumatologist Dr Bonnie Bermas, it’s really quite important
Rheumatologists don’t always ask their female patients this question, but, according to US rheumatologist Dr Bonnie Bermas from UT Southwestern in Dallas, it’s really quite important.
The ‘One Key Question’ is: “Are you planning on becoming pregnant in the next year?”
The conversations about contraception and pregnancy planning are often out of the “comfort zone” of rheumatologists, says Dr Bermas.
But this is a topic that rheumatologists should bring up with their patients to kickstart a conversation about disease control during pregnancy.
Rheumatoid arthritis patients are at a greater risk for pregnancy complications if their disease is more active, says Dr Bermas.
“We have a lot of data that show that pregnancies do best when they are planned and disease is under good control,” she says.
