Relationship between Pregnancy and Development of Autoimmune Diseases

Research has shown that autoimmune diseases have a significant prevalence within the female population, and a considerable portion of women who are mothers. According to Khashan et al., 44.3% of women who develop an autoimmune disease have onset after the first year of pregnancy. During pregnancy, the fetus develops a separate circulatory system, however the fetus’s and mother’s blood often mix. This fetomaternal trafficking is known as microchimerism.