European Women With Multiple Sclerosis Feel Unprepared and Uneducated About Family Planning and Their Ability to Have Children – How Do We Improve Patient Education?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disabling disease affecting the central nervous system. Despite the high frequency of this disease in women of childbearing age, it has previously been found that female patients with MS are often uninformed regarding the effects of pregnancy on MS and there is little available research on family planning decisions in females with MS. In this commentary we examine the results of a recent multi-country study, carried out by Wakefield Research for Teva Pharmaceuticals, of 1,000 women, aged 25–35 years, who were diagnosed with relapsing forms of MS (RMS) in the last 5 years. The survey sampled 200 women from each of the following five countries: Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom. Results from this survey highlight a lack of open communication regarding family planning between women in Europe with MS and healthcare professionals (HCPs), and show that insufficient information on family planning is being provided to the majority of those surveyed. We discuss the importance of family planning for European women with MS, and their top concerns regarding this issue. In addition, we outline how family planning concerns are addressed with HCPs, and discuss how family planning education for patients with MS can be improved.