Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating disease of the central nervous system mainly concerning women. In Germany approximately 120,000 patients are affected. Typical age of onset is between 20 to 40 years. Patients with MS suffer from an unpredictable disease, never knowing when or if their condition will get worse and their impairments will increase. Due to the disease related psychic strain and increasing physical impairments, quality of life is often reduced. The onset of MS in women occurs in their reproductive years and receiving the diagnosis means a dramatic change in life. The unpredictability of the disease and expected handicaps make planning life very hard. Thus, uncertainty concerning family planning in both patients and health care professionals occurs. Some health care professionals still exaggerate to encourage women to limit their childbearing, fearing to overextend them with the changes that come with maternity. The belief in adverse effects of pregnancy on MS can be traced back to 1893 when Gowers suggested that ‘MS can onset during pregnancy, remain stationary until the next pregnancy, and then become progressive’. However, children can also represent a chance for those women by giving them joy and a new perspective in life, deviation from disease, and more social contact.  When advising couples afflicted by MS about family planning, several aspects should be considered. On the one hand, maternal issues, possible effects on the disease due to pregnancy and raising the child need to be considered.  On the other hand, influences of the social environment need to be addressed. Maternity research on women with MS mostly concentrates on pregnancy and its influence on the course of the disease.  However, many topics need further research (e.g. effect of medication during pregnancy, effect on child development). To our knowledge, there is also no literature concerning life conditions in MS mothers, their quality of life, and coping behavior while raising children. With our study we would like to contribute to the understanding of these areas.

This study looks at the circumstances, quality of life (QOL) and coping behavior in mothers with MS. Anonymous standardized questionnaires were sent to 7,050 members of a section of the German MS Association (response rate 44.8 percent). Comparison of 482 female MS patients raising children aged < 18 years with 607 childless women with MS.  No statistically significant differences concerning age, MS course, complaints or number of exacerbations were found. Mothers with MS more frequently had a relationship and a higher monthly net income.  They were also less likely to be employed, their EDSS-scales were lower, and their disease duration shorter. Some aspects of coping and QOL were rated better than in childless women but were not directly influenced by the absence of children.  The conclusion of the study was that

For more information or for a copy of the full report, contact Sabine Twork, MD, PhD, Department of Health Sciences/Public Health, Dresden Medical School, Fiedlerstr. 33, 01307 Dresden (Germany), Tel: 0049- 351- 4585018, Fax: 0049- 351- 4585338,   e-mail: sabine_twork@hotmail.com.