Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, or multiple sclerosis, are more common in women than in men, and often affect a woman's ability to get pregnant or have normal pregnancies. Many women with autoimmune disease need treatment to control their condition in order to ensure a healthy pregnancy. But this can be a challenge since we know that some of the treatments are also harmful to the fetus. A newer group of drugs called 'biologics' could be a better option, except we still do not know enough information about their safety when taken during pregnancy. Using 10 years of high quality health care data in British Columbia, this research study hopes to answer the question of whether these biologic drugs cause harm during pregnancy to the women using them, or to their babies. This information will help Canadian women with autoimmune diseases, and their doctors, make important decisions about their treatment, to ensure that both mother and baby receive the best possible care.