Women and Myotonic Dystrophy

Women are uniquely affected by Myotonic Dystrophy. The congenital form of the disease is almost exclusively passed on by the mother. With the birth of a congenital infant the mother will need to care for the infant while she herself is affected with a slowly progressive disease. This disease manifests itself very insidiously.  In a nutshell it sneaks up and takes away a lot of the parenting skills over time.

Additionally infants that are not congenital in nature may have the juvenile onset. This can cause issues with learning disability, social, emotional and other considerations. This will cause a lot of stress on the family and the mom who may be the primary caretaker.

Some issues that women need to consider

1. The need to consider reproduction via Pre-Implant diagnosis
2. The need to care for an infant with Juvenile or Congenital DM1
3. Increased Menstrual Pain or Bleeding
4. Pregnancy

Continue reading