Pre-pregnancy planning for female patients seen at a pregnancy and rheumatic diseases clinic: a retrospective analysis of patients with rheumatic diseases seeking pregnancy-related care

To assess the clinical utility of pre-pregnancy planning among female patients with rheumatic diseases attending a targeted pregnancy and rheumatic diseases clinic. We conducted a retrospective review using data collected via chart review of female patients with rheumatic diseases seen at the Pregnancy and Rheumatic Diseases Clinic at the Mary Pack Arthritis Centre in Vancouver, Canada, between January 2017 and July 2020. Patients were categorized according to an initial presentation at the clinic as (1) pregnant without pre-pregnancy planning; and (2) not pregnant with pre-pregnancy planning. The latter group was further categorized according to whether they had contraindications to pregnancy. Pregnancy outcomes were extracted from electronic medical records and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Our study included 230 female patients with rheumatic diseases. At the initial clinical presentation, 86 were pregnant and 144 were planning to become pregnant and presenting for pre-pregnancy planning. Compared to patients without pre-pregnancy planning, patients who received pregnancy planning experienced fewer prenatal disease flares (61.3% [38/62] vs. 22.6% [7/31]; p