This article discusses neonatal lupus erythematosus,which is a disease
of the newborn defined by the presence of maternal autoantibodies and
characteristic clinical features in the neonatal period. Although the
autoantibodies often are not associated with clinical disease in the
mother, neonatal lupus erythematosus is likely the result of fetal or
neonatal tissue damage caused by maternally transmitted IgG autoantibo
dies.