Pregnancy & Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic kidney disease causes the kidneys to lose their ability to rid the blood of wastes and keep your body's chemicals and fluids balanced. Cysts grow and put pressure on other parts of the kidneys, resulting in high blood pressure and uremia, a condition of toxic levels of waste. As the disease progresses, the result may be end-stage renal failure. Pregnant women with polycystic kidney disease must be constantly monitored by their physician.

• Polycystic kidney disease is a risk to pregnancy.

Significance

• Most pregnant women with polycystic kidney disease (PKD) have successful pregnancies. However, the disease can cause another life-threatening disorder: preeclampsia.

Risk

• The women most at risk of complications due to polycystic kidney disease are those who have high blood pressure even before they carry a child.

Preeclampsia

• Preeclampsia affects 5 to 8 percent of all pregnancies. It involves high blood pressure and protein in the urine. Symptoms include headaches, sudden weight gain and changes in vision. Worldwide, preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders are the top cause of mother and infant illness and death.

Warning

• Some women suffer from autosomal recessive PKD, which is a rare, inherited form of the disease. The cause is believed to be a genetic flaw. Parents without signs of the disease can have a baby who suffers from it, if both parents carry the abnormal gene. If only one parent carries the gene, the baby is safe but could act as a carrier and pass the gene to his or her own children.

Considerations

• Autosomal recessive PKD can sometimes be detected before birth, using a fetal ultrasound. It will show whether the fetus has enlarged kidneys, but it very rarely detects large cysts. Autosomal recessive PKD also scars the liver, so an image of that area can also help with diagnosis.