Pregnancy and Leukemia

A woman is diagnosed with leukemia when she was pregnant. In this case, it would be advisable to delay chemotherapy until after birth. If a woman needs to undergo prior to treatment, it seems useful to begin chemotherapy after the 12th week of pregnancy when the fetus has passed the stage of risk. In some cases it will be necessary to consider the option of abortion.

If the leukemia is diagnosed in the first trimester of pregnancy is not recommended as it continues forward. Chemotherapy, in those early months, could harm the fetus by preventing normal development. Also this usually triggers a spontaneous abortion.

If the leukemia is diagnosed later, the risks to the fetus are much lower. It is usual to treat the patient with chemotherapy and, when the fetus is mature (at around 8 months) is necessary to induce labor, thus reducing risks.