Fibromyalgia in pregnancy and postpartum period: effects on quality of life, obstetric outcomes, delivery decisions, and breastfeeding: a systematic review.

Authors

Bruna Maria Dos Santos Pereira, Vinícius Borges Alencar, Liana Maria Tôrres de Araújo Azi, Durval Campos Kraychete, Rodrigo Leal Alves

Published in

Revista brasileira de ginecologia e obstetricia : revista da Federacao Brasileira das Sociedades de Ginecologia e Obstetricia. Volume 48. Epub Aug 20, 2026.

Abstract

To systematically evaluate the impact of fibromyalgia (FM) during pregnancy and the postpartum period on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), obstetric outcomes, and breastfeeding practices.
PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane CENTRAL, and SciELO were searched for studies published between January 2010 and May 2024. The review followed Cochrane Collaboration standards and PRISMA 2020 recommendations.
Randomized and observational studies assessing FM during pregnancy or postpartum were eligible. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were independently screened by two reviewers according to predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Data were extracted on maternal HRQoL, psychological well-being, obstetric complications, and breastfeeding outcomes. Methodological quality was appraised using ROBINS-I for non-randomized studies.
From 152 records identified, five studies met inclusion criteria, encompassing 8,182 women with FM. FM was associated with greater pain intensity, reduced functional capacity, lower HRQoL, and higher rates of depressive and anxiety symptoms. A population-based cohort showed modestly increased risks of gestational diabetes, preterm birth, and cesarean delivery, while reproductive capacity and breastfeeding duration appeared unaffected. Most studies presented moderate risk of bias due to confounding and reliance on self-reported data.
FM during pregnancy appears to be associated with reduced maternal HRQoL and impaired psychological well-being and may be associated with a modest increase in obstetric risk.PROSPERO registry: #CRD42024572007.

PMID:
42924382
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 25 Oct 2026.

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