Is Pregnancy Recommended to Women on Dialysis

Pregnancy is generally not recommended to women on dialysis because it is considered as a risk for both mother and fetus. Healthy kidneys work continuously in the whole day and keep our body in a favorable internal environment. However, for the women on hemodialysis, they just have dialysis for about 12 hours a week. Therefore, dialysis can not replace the whole function of the native kidneys and much metabolic wastes will accumulate in the pregnant women' body. It can make it harder for the baby to develop as it should.

During pregnancy, the baby also releases wastes into the mother's blood stream. Therefore, their kidneys have to work over time to filtrate the blood. Therefore, pregnancy is a very hard thing for the women on dialysis. For the pregnant women on dialysis, they should increase the dialysis frequency to keep the blood clean as possible as they can.

If the women on dialysis want to have a baby, she should consult her doctors firstly. Her doctor will provide some guidance to decline the risk to both mother and baby. However, fertility is not a easy thing for some women because having kidney disease can decrease the ability to produce healthy eggs that can be fertilized. Moreover, the irregular hormone level may influence the normal menstruation.

If the women just start dialysis for a short time or she still keep a large amount of residual renal function, the chances of becoming pregnant is higher.

Therefore, if a woman on dialysis wants to have a baby, she needs to take her disease condition comprehensively. During pregnancy, she should keep regular follow-ups to guarantee the safety of mother and baby.