Chemotherapy during pregnancy is usually not recommended by doctors. However, women diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy are faced with the dilemma that they should either terminate their pregnancy or deliver preterm in order to avoid exposure to the fetus.

All the women within the childbearing age are strongly recommended not to conceive during their treatment. They are advised to use effective birth control methods in order to prevent pregnancy. Even men are asked not to father a child till the time they undergo treatment. Some men are asked to freeze their sperms before commencing the treatment. After the treatment, if couples plan to have a child, they must take the consent of their oncologist before they start planning a baby.

One out of 3,000 women between the age group of 32 to 38 years of age is likely to have breast cancer during pregnancy and immediately after delivering a child (postpartum). Some cases of cervical, melanoma, thyroid, leukemia, lymphoma and colorectal cancer have also been detected in women during pregnancy. A very limited study has been obtained so far and its results show that the survival rates of those who get diagnosed of cancer during pregnancy have similar survival rates as those who are diagnosed without getting pregnant. However, in most cases, as the cancers are undetected until postpartum, the growth of tumor can be seen in the nearby nodes and the cancer becomes invasive. This is because the breasts of the lactating and pregnant women undergo some changes, which makes it very difficult to detect the presence of a tumor.

After delivery, those who are found to have cancer can be safely by given chemotherapy treatment along with radiation. However, the doctors usually ask them to stop breastfeeding their babies as the drugs are likely to get passed into the mother’s milk and harm the baby. This might not be good for the immune system of the baby.

If the cancer is detected during pregnancy, it becomes very challenging for the oncologists to give treatment to the mother. If the pregnancy is in the first trimester, the treatment for breast cancer or any other type of cancer might be delayed till the second semester. The doctor might even suggest abortion in order to avoid complications to the mother and baby. In the first trimester, the fetus develops significantly and all major body organs are formed. Any treatment given during first trimester of pregnancy could be hazardous to the unborn.

The doctors might consider giving chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer or other type of cancer in the second and third trimester of pregnancy. When the women are given chemotherapy for their malignancy in second or third trimester the chances of birth defects are lesser. Yet the administration of chemotherapy at this phase could result in a premature delivery. This is what can cause long term harm to the baby during pregnancy, the doctors usually do not use aggressive treatment, unless the cancer is life threatening. In such cases, they doctors might consider terminating the pregnancy and giving aggressive chemotherapy and radiation in order to save the life of the patient.

Some common abnormalities and ailments that predominate among a newly born, whose mother has undergone chemotherapy during pregnancy include:

1. Anemia: Such newly born babies are often anemic because of low hemoglobin in their blood supplied by their mother
2. Alopecia or hair loss: Few infants are born bald as hair loss is a common side effect due to hair follicle damage by chemotherapy drugs
3. Infection: The newborn could have very low immunity to fight infections as they are deprived of their mother’s milk or they are delivered preterm and are thus underweight

Although doctors say that chemotherapy during pregnancy in the second and third trimester has been given to patients, a research has not been conducted in to find out the health of these babies in the long term. The risks of chemotherapy during pregnancy cannot be averted. Improved medicines are being researched to find a solution to minimize the side effects of chemotherapy during pregnancy. Before you start with your treatment, you should talk to your doctors about the possible outcome, and what benefits you will get from the suggested treatment.