Solid organ transplantation (SOT) is a lifesaving procedure for those with end-stage kidney, liver, heart, lung, and intestinal diseases, including females of childbearing age who wish to proceed with pregnancy following transplantation. While there is clear risk associated with use of mycophenolate during pregnancy, the risks associated with use of other immunosuppressant agents are less well understood, and the timing of use in pregnancy may be pertinent when considering the risk versus benefit for individual patients. In addition to overall fetal outcomes, including gestational age, birth weight, and mortality, this review summarizes published literature on additional complications that have been examined in association with maternal use during pregnancy and postpartum while breastfeeding. Compared with non-transplant pregnancies, pregnancies in transplant recipients are associated with lower birth weight and earlier gestational age. Effects associated with particular immunosuppressant agents in the infant include renal dysfunction from calcineurin inhibitors, myelosuppression from azathioprine, and decreased circulating immune cells with several agents. However, these effects are noted to primarily be transient, though the decrease in immune cells may predispose the infant to increased infectious complications in the first year of life. Utilizing relative infant dose estimations, nearly all commonly utilized immunosuppressants are likely safe during breastfeeding given the limited exposure to the infant.

Transplantation affords recipients the potential for a full life and, for some, parenthood. Female transplant recipients must continue to take immunosuppression during pregnancy and breast-feeding. This article reviews case and series reports regarding breast-feeding in those taking transplant medications. Avoidance of breast-feeding has been the customary advice because of the potential adverse effects of immunosuppressive exposure on the infant. Subsequent studies have demonstrated that not all medication exposure translates to risk for the infant, that the exposure in utero is greater than via breast milk and that no lingering effects due to breast-feeding have been found to date in infants who were breast-fed while their mothers were taking prednisone, azathioprine, cyclosporine, and/or tacrolimus. Thus, except for those medications where clinical information is inadequate (mycophenolic acid products, sirolimus, everolimus, and belatacept), the recommendation for transplant recipients regarding breast-feeding has evolved into one that is cautiously optimistic.

Organ transplant is an effective treatment for end-stage organ failure. For women, restoration of organ function can restore fertility and the ability to successfully carry a pregnancy. Posttransplant pregnancies have been reported among recipients of all types of solid organ transplants via case and center reports plus registry data. Stable graft function is dependent on prevention of rejection, currently accomplished by using maintenance immunosuppressant medications, to which the fetus is exposed in utero. Common among neonatal outcomes in transplant recipients are preterm and low-birth-weight infants. Emotional, nutritional, and immunologic benefits of breastfeeding have been well-documented and could be valuable for these newborns. Concern must be directed at the effects of the child's exposure to immunosuppressive agents excreted into the breast milk. Breastfeeding could be considered in transplant recipients if it can be shown that the level of exposure does not result in risks to the newborn, immediately and throughout childhood. Despite concerns of health care professionals, some recipients have chosen to breastfeed. Breastfeeding after transplant must be approached with consideration of many issues, and the potential risks require further study. This review focuses on benefits of breastfeeding, common immunosuppressive agents used in organ transplant recipients, a summary of the reports of women who have breastfed their infants while on immunosuppressive therapy and the published studies on breastfeeding and immunosuppressive agents. Recommendations are provided to guide health care professionals to help mothers receiving immunosuppressive agents to make informed choices about breastfeeding their infants.

The first known posttransplantation pregnancy was in 1958 in a renal transplant recipient who had received a kidney from her identical twin sister. The first known posttransplantation pregnancy in a liver transplant recipient was in 1978. Information available from female kidney transplant recipients helped in the decision making involved in the management of this case, as well as those that followed. Over the last 20 years, issues specific to liver transplantation and pregnancy have been identified. Similar to the kidney transplant recipient population, when prepregnancy recipient graft function is stable and adequate, pregnancy appears to be well tolerated. Also similar to kidney transplant recipients, there has been no evidence of a specific malformation pattern among the children, and although prematurity and low birth weight occur, overall newborn outcomes have been favorable. Pregnancy in the setting of recurrent liver disease, such as recurrent hepatitis C, poses a potential problem among liver transplant recipients, as well as the possible adverse effects of immunosuppression on maternal kidney function. Also of significance, peripartum graft deterioration has more severe consequences in this transplant recipient population. Therefore, pregnancy must be considered carefully in this transplant recipient group. Since 1991, the National Transplantation Pregnancy Registry (NTPR) has studied the safety of pregnancy outcomes in solid-organ transplant recipients. The purpose of this review is to catalog studies in the literature, as well as to present current data from the registry with management guidelines.

Mothers treated with cyclosporine (CsA) have previously not been allowed to breast-feed due to the reported accumulation of the drug in breast milk. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the consequences of allowing breast-feeding.

Seven infants were breast-fed by mothers who had undergone kidney transplantation alone (n=5) or simultaneous kidney and pancreas transplants (n=2). In addition to CsA, all mothers received prednisolone at 5-7.5 mg/day and six mothers received azathioprine at 50-100 mg. CsA concentration was measured in the whole blood of mothers and babies and in breast milk. Serum creatinine was measured in babies 1 week after birth and after 4-12 months of breast-feeding.

Blood CsA levels ranged from 55 to 130 ng/ml in mothers (12-hr trough), 50 to 227 ng/ml in breast milk (mean for each woman), and was below the detection limit of 30 ng/ml in all infants. Breast milk concentration ranged from 87 to 440 ng/ml in 16 samples obtained at various time points from one mother. Infants' serum creatinine ranged from 25 to 54 micromol/L at 1 week after birth and 23-52 micromol/L after breast-feeding. All babies thrived.

Breast-fed infants of mothers treated with CsA received less than 300 microg per day of CsA and absorbed undetectable amounts. There were no demonstrable nephrotoxic effects or other side effects. Thus, women with kidney transplants could be allowed to breast-feed.

The choice of medical therapies for Crohn's disease continues to grow. Although our understanding of the mechanisms of the disease is incomplete, increasing knowledge of the pathogenesis of inflammation in general and Crohn's disease in particular allows targeting of therapies at various points in the immunoinflammatory cascade. In addition, the division of Crohn's disease into subtypes by location, aggressiveness, and the presence or absence of perianal and fistulizing disease allows the tailoring of medical therapy to the individual patient. For those patients with moderate to severe symptoms or frequent flares of disease activity, and those who have required surgical resection, maintenance therapy can substantially reduce the rate of recurrence. Despite these advances, available medical therapies for Crohn's disease remain imperfect, as evidenced by their sometimes substantial toxicities and the continued frequent need for surgery.