What we do not know about pregnancy in hereditary neuromuscular disorders

Only sparse information is available concerning the relationship between pregnancy and hereditary neuromuscular disorders. This review deals with several issues like the effects of such conditions on female fertility (myotonic dystrophy type 1 and mitochondrial disorders), on the risk to the fetus (myotonic dystrophy type 1 and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease), on the ability to carry pregnancy and its complications (markedly increased preterm labor in myotonic dystrophies and spinal muscular atrophy), on the labor and its possible need for interventions (myotonic dystrophy type 1, facioscapulohumeral dystrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease). It also discusses the question of pregnancy effects on the course of the inherited neuromuscular disorders (myotonic dystrophies, spinal muscular atrophy, facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, congenital myopathy and limb-girdle muscular dystrophy). The aim of this critical review is to point at pregnancy-related problems that need further research. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.