THE ASSOCIATION of leukemia and pregnancy is of interest to the pediatrician for several reasons. Of primary importance is an understanding of the effect of the disease on the child during the gestational period and in the neonatal period.
According to the literature, the association of leukemia and pregnancy is a rare condition. In 1943, McGoldrick and Lapp1 stated that there had been 79 cases of proved association reported to that date. Since 1943 there have been 5 more cases of chronic myelogenous leukemia and pregnancy described in the literature.2. Of these cases, 34 were cases of acute leukemia. Nine of the 34 were cases of acute lymphatic, 17 of acute myelogenous and 2 of acute hemoblastic leukemia, and the others were unclassified.
One reason for sterility in the leukemic woman is the presence of secondary amenorrhea. The genital tract may also be massively infiltrated.2b
Leukemia has