#MaybeBaby: supporting young people in the UK and Ireland living with arthritis or psoriasis

To support them in managing this concern and to help them ask the right questions at the right time, UCB has teamed up with Arthur’s Place, the award-winning social network in the UK for young adults with arthritis. Together, we are encouraging women in particular to think about their future life goals and discuss these with their doctor at an early stage.

For some young women, pregnancy and motherhood may be so far in their future they haven’t even considered it. For others, it’s something they think they will miss out on due to their condition.

However, for young women living with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis or psoriasis, motherhood is very much an option, which can be supported by asking questions, thinking ahead and planning treatment options with their doctor.

The #MaybeBaby campaign offers vital support at a crucial time in young people’s lives.  UCB has created a dedicated MaybeBaby section on Arthur’s Place. It features an animation about living with a diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis, expert commentary, and the Little Guide to Good Questions to help patients and clinicians start a conversation about managing the condition to maximise the patient’s life goals.

The project has inspired real-life stories from women with inflammatory arthritis which have been published in online lifestyle magazine Refinery 29, the UK’s number one digital female publisher.

An influencer marketing campaign with support from key figures on Instagram, an author and a blogger, is helping to raise awareness of MaybeBaby in the UK and Ireland. Launched in  May 2019, the campaign has reached more than 800,000, mainly young women, through social media interactions.

To complement the patient project, the MaybeBaby team has also developed resources to support healthcare professionals (HCPs) in asking their female patients whether they have future plans for motherhood.