Successful pregnancies in women on regular hemodialysis treatment.

Successful pregnancies in women on regular hemodialysis treatment are infrequent but increasing. We present two such cases; both pregnancies were diagnosed early, and hemodialysis was intensified, leading to significant reductions in predialysis serum urea levels (70-100 mg/dl). One case was particularly unusual in that systemic lupus erythematosus was the underlying disease, and the patient had no residual renal function at the time of conception. Both patients delivered by cesarean section at 32 and 35 weeks, and their infants are well at ages 2 years and 18 months, respectively. The management and the complications associated with such pregnancies are discussed.