Some Women With Migraine Avoiding Pregnancy

Some women with migraine are avoiding pregnancy. The big question is – should they?

This is not a question that simple statistics can answer. However, there are a lot of good reasons why you should not allow migraine to be a deciding factor when you’re wondering whether or not you should start a family.

The question is coming up because of a recent survey of 607 women with migraine, 20% of whom said that they were avoiding pregnancy due to their migraine.

But this is not as high a percentage as you may think. These wasn’t a cross section of women with migraine, it was a group of women getting treatment from specialty headache centres, generally with severe symptoms. So the number would be much lower if you looked at all women with migraine. And lower still if you looked at how many woman finally decided to avoid pregnancy in the end.

Still, it’s concerning that migraine is having this effect. Most readers will understand some of the reasons that women gave – concerns that their child would have migraine, concerns that they wouldn’t be able to handle pregnancy or parenthood with migraine. These are valid concerns, absolutely.

But without getting into the benefits of having a family in general, there are a couple of good reasons why women with migraine, even a more severe or chronic form, should reconsider pregnancy.

First, there is a good chance that migraine may either improve, or be adequately handled with treatment, during pregnancy. If you’d like to see some actual statistics of migraine during pregnancy and afterward, check out this infographic: Migraine During and After Pregnancy

There are more and more excellent options for women during pregnancy. There are well studied and proven complimentary treatments, and even medications that may be safe for you and the baby, if you’re under the care of a headache specialist.

Second, you’re probably a lot stronger than you realize, especially if you have supportive people around you. If you’re feeling alone, you may need to seek out some people. But even mothers with few connections may be avoiding something that they really will be able to handle, and handle well, as the months and years go by.

It will probably be helpful for you to read The Myth-Busting Guide to Migraines and Pregnancy, so that you can start with some realistic expectations. Make sure you’re under the care of a headache specialist, if at all possible.

Don’t let migraine make you automatically give up on motherhood. But at the same time, don’t be afraid to seek out help from specialists, friends and family as you enter into this amazing adventure.