Parkinson's disease and pregnancy.

In an effort to study the interaction of pregnancy and Parkinson's disease (PD), I interviewed 18 women who had had a total of 24 pregnancies after onset of PD symptoms. Conception occurred at mean age 34.7 (SD 6.1) years. There were 3 miscarriages, 4 elective abortions, and 17 term pregnancies. Use of amantadine during the first trimester was associated with a heterogeneous group of obstetric complications including miscarriage. Ten of the 17 completed pregnancies were associated with permanent worsening of PD symptoms, which did not affect overall disability. Among the series as a whole there was no excess incidence of obstetric complications or fetal defects.