I’ve been getting questions about what does rheumatoid arthritis do after pregnancy?? So, I wanted to share a postpartum update with you since Amelia is almost 5 months old now!

Many of my readers are wanting to have children, but are a little worried about RA. Some of my readers are even expecting right now and have RA!

The “experts” and textbooks have all this information listed, but it’s not from people who have been through it. 

During the end of my pregnancy, I shared a post called Does rheumatoid arthritis really go into remission during pregnancy? The short answer is not necessarily!

I received many emails from people thanking me for this post because it gave them encouragement that there’s wasn’t going into remission either! 

Let me tell you about what RA does during postpartum recovery!

What Does Rheumatoid Arthritis Do After Pregnancy?

When I got pregnant, I knew two things to be true. My RA would go into remission during pregnancy, and then it would flare up after pregnancy. Well, that’s what the experts said anyways. 

During my pregnancy, I had many arthritic flares. In fact, during the second trimester, I was in some pretty bad pain. I almost went back on prednisone. Read more about that here. 

A few weeks before Amelia was born, I still had elbow pain with some swelling. I will be honest here, I prayed daily that this RA would go into remission once the baby was here. I knew it was “supposed” to flare after delivery, but I just trusted God to help me through that time when it came. 

I ended up having a caesarean delivery because Amelia was breech. This was not how I saw my delivery going, but her safety was more important than anything. Read more about that here

Many women with arthritis have c-sections anyways to minimize the trauma of labor. I’m not sure if there is any truth to this because a c-section is major surgery and very traumatic with the recovery in my opinion. 

Although I had arthritic pain right before she was born, the pain disappeared after. Now, I’m not sure if it just left completely, or slowly got better. With all the pain from surgery and breastfeeding, it’s hard to say!

Either way, I have not had any arthritis issues since giving birth! In fact, I feel better than I ever did pregnant, even though that is opposite from what you read online!

Here are some things that are helping keep rheumatoid arthritis away after pregnancy:

I’m still breastfeeding. There was a time around month two I didn’t think I could continue because of the severe pain and complications we continued to have. But I kept going, and we are still going strong! Hormones are similar to pregnancy during breastfeeding, so I think this has helped with my auto-immune response.  Breastfeeding has been the hardest part for us. It is an entirely different article though! If you would like me to share that, please let me know 🙂

Exercise and healthy living! I had to rest for 8 weeks after surgery, but got right back into exercise. I walked and stayed active all through pregnancy (minus the first three months when I  was sick). Exercise helps in so many ways for RA in general, but especially after pregnancy. The endorphins help your mood, it helps get pregnancy weight off which helps joints, and it keeps everything mobile.

I also eat healthy! Fruits, vegetables, fish, chicken, whole grains, and healthy fats are the majority of my diet. Not only is this good for breastfeeding, but also good for arthritis! I follow many of these tips on dealing with an arthritic flare.

The biggest thing is praying and trusting God to keep this Rheumatoid arthritis away. I was worried what it would be like to take care of a baby while having an arthritic flare in my elbows and knees. Instead, I just have faith and trust, knowing He will get me through!

So, what Does Rheumatoid Arthritis Do After Pregnancy?

For me it’s been good! But remember, everyone’s body is different! Whether you breastfeed or not, or depending on what type of delivery you have, can play a huge role in arthritis after pregnancy! Make sure to check in with your doctor for anything relating to rheumatoid arthritis!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anything!!

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