Renal Disease

Renal disease during pregnancy is relatively uncommon, occurring in approximately 0.03-0.12% of all pregnancies. Obstetricians are likely to encounter pregnant women with renal disease given improvements in reproductive success in women with underlying renal disease. The management of pregnant women with this complication presents a challenge to obstetricians, maternal-fetal medicine physicians, nephrologists, anesthesiologists and neonatologists. A multidisciplinary approach is best at a tertiary care center under the coordinated care of an obstetrician, maternal-fetal medicine subspecialist and a nephrologist. Renal ultrasonography is used to evaluate a pregnant woman with renal disease. There are a few indications for renal biopsy during pregnancy and these include those women with rapid unexplained renal function deterioration or profound symptomatic nephrotic syndrome prior to 32 weeks of gestation. Pregnant women with preexisting renal disease or essential hypertension are susceptible than control populations to superimposed preeclampsia, which frequently occurs in midpregnancy or early in the third trimester.