IgA Nephropathy is a common Glomerulonephritis which usually attacks some people in young age. What should you prepare for pregnance with IgA Nephropathy?
Factors that decides whether you can get pregnance or not
Many women with IgA Nephropathy have conceived successfully, however, your nephrologists’ recommendation or advice will depend on your individual circumstances. Factors that may be considered are degree of existing renal failure (that is, what your kidney function is, and if it's less than about 70%), the amount of proteinuria you have, whether you have high blood pressure or not, and also some of your biopsy findings (any sign of significant tubulointerstitial involvement). You might be asked to wait until your IgAN is stable, if for example, you are dealing with nephrotic syndrome, or if you are having frequent "flare-ups" involving blood in the urine.
On the other hand, pregnancy should not be automatically excluded on the basis of having IgA Nephropathy. A recent study involving 60 pregnant women with IgA Nephropathy, the conclusion was that "in pregnancy complicated with IgA Nephropathy, if the renal function before pregnancy was satisfactory, an uneventful course of pregnancy could be expected by careful control of the patient, although the incidence of EPH-gestosis was high". EPH-gestosis means essentially the same thing as pre-eclampsia. A satisfactory renal function in this case would mean a serum creatinine somewhere under 200 umol/L (equivalent to 0.20 mmol/L in some countries, or approx. 2.3 mg/dl in the U.S.), and well-controlled hypertension (on drugs that will not harm the fetus).
So, when it comes to pregnancy, no matter what you read here or anywhere else, the bottom line has to be consulting with your nephrologist, and if necessary, whatever other medical specialists are appropriate in your case.
