Supported Research

Lay Abstract

Motherhood is a desired goal for some women with kidney disease (KD). However, having KD may make it more difficult for a woman to become pregnant, or carry a baby to term. Fertility treatments – together known as “assisted reproductive technologies” (ART) – can help a woman with fertility issues to become pregnant. ART can include surgically removing a woman’s eggs from her ovaries, combining the egg with sperm in a laboratory setting, and then returning them to a woman’s body. However, among women who become pregnant by ART, it is not known what impact KD has on the rate of complications that may arise during pregnancy – both for the mother and her child. These gaps limit the ability of a woman with KD to make informed decisions about her pregnancy. In the currently proposed series of studies, we will use existing large healthcare datasets from across Ontario to study women with pre-pregnancy KD who utilize ART, intending to become pregnant. We will study the risks that pre-pregnancy KD may pose on the development of serious pregnancy complications – arising in the mother and her baby. Our research aims to improve the lives of women with KD, to empower them to make informed decisions about pregnancy, and to provide them with the best opportunity for a healthy transition from pregnancy into motherhood. Likewise, our data will provide health care practitioners with much needed new information in the counseling and care of women with KD.