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Course of Migraine During Pregnancy and Postpartum:
A Prospective Study - Preliminary Data
G. Sances, et al.
Posted: March 2005  
Cephalalgia Vol. 20, Number 4

Aim:   To investigate through a prospective study the course of migraine with (MA) and without (MO) aura during pregnancy and postpartum period.

Methods:  All pregnant MA or MO sufferers attending their first routine prenatal examination and who had had at least one attack during the three months preceding pregnancy were enrolled and given a headache diary. While attack frequency in the trimester preceding pregnancy and during the weeks of pregnancy up to the examination was recorded retrospectively, subsequent attacks were recorded prospectively at the following examination.

Results:   These preliminary data concern 46 women who have so far completed the study. Of 44 women with MO, a complete remission was observed in 8.7%, 52.2% and 78.3% in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters, respectively. Remission or improvement (attack frequency reduced by at least 50%, or remission) were noted in 56.5%, 82.6% and 87.0% of the patients in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters, respectively. No woman worsened. Sixteen women had an attack in the first week after delivery and 26 in the first month. Bottle-feeding was a risk factor for an attack during both the first week and the first month after childbirth. Two women with MA did not improve.

Conclusions:   Pregnancy exerts a very positive effect on MO, more pronounced during the last two trimesters. Bottle-feeding is a predictive factor of early recurrence after delivery.