ET and pregnancy

Women with ET can have healthy babies, but they should be
aware of complications, risks, and whom to contact in the event
of an unplanned pregnancy.

While the typical ET patient is 50-70 years old, about 20 percent of women with ET are younger than 40, that is, within child-bearing age. Women with ET can have healthy babies, but ET does pose elevated risks for both mothers and fetuses that fertile women should know about and discuss with both their hematologists and gynecologists.

A link between ET and early miscarriage has been known for many years. A 2007 report in the Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases, and a 2017 article specifically on ET and pregnancy in the Obstetrical and Gynecological Report offers this info:

Happy International Women's Day!

Happy International Women's Day! Enjoy
yourself. But drink that wine in moderation!

As you know, there are 1.5 female ET patients to every male--that is, about 65 percent of patients with ET are women. So, on this International Women's Day, let's take a look at some of the challenges women ET patients face.

Women diagnosed with ET in their childbearing years need to be aware that taking chemo can cause serious birth defects. However, interferon-based drugs such as Pegasys, may be taken without harming fetal life. Discuss this with your doctor! Anecdotally, younger women with ET who are not on medication may run a higher risk of miscarriage or experience more bleeding during their menstrual cycles.

Younger ET patients who hope to become parents should also understand that the ET is caused by somatic mutation, that is, one that is not passed along genetically.  But because ET (and other MPNs) seems to run in many families, researchers theorize that the children of parents with ET may inherit a sensitivity to developing ET later in life if exposed to unknown carcinogens in the environment.