Pregnancy and Family Planning in Women With Kidney Disease

Introduction: Females with kidney disease are at increased risk for pregnancy complications. Few studies have examined pregnancy perspectives of people with kidney disease. Our objective was to examine kidney patients’ perspectives on family planning. Methods: We conducted an online survey of female...

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Main Authors: Joy Eskandar, Anika Lucas, Angelina Dixon, Jessica Kendrick
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-05-01
Series:Kidney International Reports
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468024924015286
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author Joy Eskandar
Anika Lucas
Angelina Dixon
Jessica Kendrick
author_facet Joy Eskandar
Anika Lucas
Angelina Dixon
Jessica Kendrick
author_sort Joy Eskandar
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Females with kidney disease are at increased risk for pregnancy complications. Few studies have examined pregnancy perspectives of people with kidney disease. Our objective was to examine kidney patients’ perspectives on family planning. Methods: We conducted an online survey of female patients with kidney disease from the University of Colorado Hospital between the ages of 18 and 50 years from August to October 2022. The survey asked questions on previous and current pregnancies with kidney disease, family planning, and reproductive health discussions with their nephrologists. Perspectives on how kidney disease influences pregnancies were also explored. Results: A total of 136 participants completed the survey. The majority of participants were White (71.3%) with a mean (SD) age of 37 ± 10 years. The majority of participants self-characterized their kidney disease as moderate (n = 57, 43.5%) with 16 participants (12.2%) receiving dialysis. Fifty-two participants (38.5%) experienced a pregnancy with a diagnosis of kidney disease, which were largely planned (n = 33, 61.1%). The majority of participants were able to conceive within 6 months (64.8%). Nearly half of participants reported that kidney disease influenced their family planning decisions with the majority (n = 91, 66.5%) believing that kidney disease increased their risk for pregnancy complications. More than half of participants never discussed the health risks of a potential pregnancy (54.0%), desire to have children (58.0%), pregnancy prevention (57.0%), and/or optimizing their health prior to pregnancy (68.1%) with their nephrologist. Conclusion: Although kidney disease influenced family planning decisions, few participants had family planning discussions with their nephrologists.
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spelling doaj-art-545785dd17664ce1bde898d6abcc66082025-08-20T02:05:50ZengElsevierKidney International Reports2468-02492024-05-01951236124310.1016/j.ekir.2024.02.1438Pregnancy and Family Planning in Women With Kidney DiseaseJoy Eskandar0Anika Lucas1Angelina Dixon2Jessica Kendrick3Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USADepartment of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA; Medicine Service, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USADivision of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USADivision of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, USA; Correspondence: Jessica Kendrick, Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, University of Colorado Denver, 12700 E. 19th Ave, C281, Aurora, Colorado 80045, USA.Introduction: Females with kidney disease are at increased risk for pregnancy complications. Few studies have examined pregnancy perspectives of people with kidney disease. Our objective was to examine kidney patients’ perspectives on family planning. Methods: We conducted an online survey of female patients with kidney disease from the University of Colorado Hospital between the ages of 18 and 50 years from August to October 2022. The survey asked questions on previous and current pregnancies with kidney disease, family planning, and reproductive health discussions with their nephrologists. Perspectives on how kidney disease influences pregnancies were also explored. Results: A total of 136 participants completed the survey. The majority of participants were White (71.3%) with a mean (SD) age of 37 ± 10 years. The majority of participants self-characterized their kidney disease as moderate (n = 57, 43.5%) with 16 participants (12.2%) receiving dialysis. Fifty-two participants (38.5%) experienced a pregnancy with a diagnosis of kidney disease, which were largely planned (n = 33, 61.1%). The majority of participants were able to conceive within 6 months (64.8%). Nearly half of participants reported that kidney disease influenced their family planning decisions with the majority (n = 91, 66.5%) believing that kidney disease increased their risk for pregnancy complications. More than half of participants never discussed the health risks of a potential pregnancy (54.0%), desire to have children (58.0%), pregnancy prevention (57.0%), and/or optimizing their health prior to pregnancy (68.1%) with their nephrologist. Conclusion: Although kidney disease influenced family planning decisions, few participants had family planning discussions with their nephrologists.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468024924015286chronic kidney diseasefamily planningkidney diseasepregnancypregnancy complicationsreproductive health
spellingShingle Joy Eskandar
Anika Lucas
Angelina Dixon
Jessica Kendrick
Pregnancy and Family Planning in Women With Kidney Disease
Kidney International Reports
chronic kidney disease
family planning
kidney disease
pregnancy
pregnancy complications
reproductive health
title Pregnancy and Family Planning in Women With Kidney Disease
title_full Pregnancy and Family Planning in Women With Kidney Disease
title_fullStr Pregnancy and Family Planning in Women With Kidney Disease
title_full_unstemmed Pregnancy and Family Planning in Women With Kidney Disease
title_short Pregnancy and Family Planning in Women With Kidney Disease
title_sort pregnancy and family planning in women with kidney disease
topic chronic kidney disease
family planning
kidney disease
pregnancy
pregnancy complications
reproductive health
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468024924015286
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AT jessicakendrick pregnancyandfamilyplanninginwomenwithkidneydisease