Still Singing: Grace's Journey Through MS, Motherhood, and Medicine
10 October 2025
Grace Sanders, mother-of-2 who was diagnosed with MS.(Credits: With Grace, documentary on Grace’s MS journey)
Rockstar. Actress. Marathon runner. At 27, Grace Sanders was having the time of her life. But something didn’t feel quite right.
“I ran a 10k and fell over. Then I ran another 10k and fell over,” she recalls.
“But I just chalked it up to age. I didn’t think much of it.”
The wake-up call came under the spotlight. On stage, Grace began seeing flashing lights and bright spots—a phenomenon she’d never experienced. Then she forgot her lines.
“As an actor, my job is to remember. I couldn’t. That was out of character for me.”
After months of waiting, Grace finally saw a neurologist in Basel. An MRI scan confirmed the diagnosis: multiple sclerosis (MS)—a chronic neurological condition affecting over 2.8 million people globally. MS can cause muscle weakness, visual problems, fatigue, and other symptoms, often in unpredictable waves.
“Can I still have children?”
“One of the first questions I asked was: Will I be able to have children?
Can I give birth naturally? Breastfeed? What about my medications?,” she said.
Grace is not alone. About 4 in 5 people diagnosed with MS are women, and the majority are diagnosed during their childbearing years (20–40 years old) (1). Historically, pregnancy was seen as a risky proposition for women with MS. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) lacked safety data in pregnancy, and relapses were common after birth, when a child needs a mother’s care most.
This gap in knowledge wasn’t unique to MS—it stemmed from decades of caution after a thalidomide, a morning sickness drug, was inappropriately prescribed in the 50s and 60s to pregnant women, causing birth defects in children.
As a result, in 1977, the U.S. FDA issued guidance recommending that women of childbearing potential be excluded from early-phase clinical drug trials, unless they faced life-threatening illnesses (2).
Although well-intentioned, the policy left women underrepresented in clinical trials, leaving major evidence gaps in how drugs affect female bodies, especially during pregnancy.
Today, that stance has evolved. The FDA and other global regulators now advocate for careful, evidence-based inclusion of pregnant women in research. Ethical frameworks and pregnancy registries have also made it safer to collect real-world data and inform clinical decision-making (3).
Besides motherhood, Grace performs at pubs and runs the Youtube channel MSGoss to share information with anyone affected by MS. (Credits: With Grace, documentary on Grace’s MS journey)
The importance of research for family planning
Women with MS who are planning families today benefit from years of clinical data and post-marketing surveillance. For example, a study published with the Women’s Brain Foundation in January 2025 shows that continuing natalizumab, a common MS treatment, throughout pregnancy is safe, efficient and even cost-effective (4).
The study was based on a cost-effectiveness model with key data inputs from more than 200 pregnant women with MS on natalizumab. They were registered in the international MSBase registry, with outcomes, such as safety and annualized relapse rates tracked accordingly (5). It is one example of how evidence can give clinicians some reassurance.
“Family planning and giving birth is a special experience,” patients and says Dr. Antonella Santuccione- Chadha, founder of the Women’s Brain Foundation and co-author of the study.
“Having a chronic condition shouldn’t rob women of that. The research is key, so women, neurologists, and gynaecologists can make informed, evidence-based choices.”
Multiple professional societies now offer guidelines on MS in pregnancy (e.g. UK consensus, French guidelines, Swiss guidelines), and multiple literature reviews (e.g. DMDs in MS) help clinicians weigh benefits and risks for each patient.
“Neurologists and gynaecologists are no longer flying blind while taking care of women with MS and their babies. This makes a big difference in clinical practice,” said Dr Santuccoine- Chadha, a neurologist herself.
Beyond the science, online patient communities share deeply personal accounts of pregnancy, birth, and parenting with MS.
Making the choice your own
“The research is important—but what really helped me was hearing from other women with MS,” says Grace.
“Knowing others had gone through it made me believe I could too.”
Still, every pregnancy journey is personal. While breastfeeding is encouraged, Grace chose to restart her medication immediately after giving birth to avoid a postpartum relapse.
“When women get pregnant, their first thought is always for the child. But don’t forget yourself,” she says. “A happy mother is a happy baby.”
“Ask about the evidence, talk to your care team, and do it your way.”
Today, Grace is a mom-of-two, still performing and rocking out at pub gigs in Basel. Summer heat can trigger fatigue and muscle weakness, but she draws strength from her kids—now one and five-years-old, and the community she’s found through her diagnosis.
“Ι would say to other women with MS thinking about pregnancy “have faith in yourself”. MS is part of you. Be friends with it but it doesn’t define who you are.”
Read the cost-effectiveness study on natalizumab, co-authored by the Women’s Brain Foundation here
Watch Grace’s journey navigating MS, Life and Pregnancy here
References
- Wyszynski et al. 2025. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, Volume 102, October, 106643
- National Institutes of Health 2025. History of Inclusion in Clinical Trials
- FDA Draft Guidance for Industry: Pregnant Women: Scientific and Ethical Considerations for Inclusion in Clinical Trials
- Walbaum et al. 2025. Journal of Neurology, Volume 272, Article 93
- Yeh et al. 2021. Neurology, 96(24): e2989–e3002
