How to Prevent Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Pregnant Women?

Pregnant women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and their babies are at increased risk and complications, reveals a new study.// The findings from a new University of Missouri School of Medicine study examined outcomes of more than 8 million pregnancies.

Impact of Inflammatory Bowel Disease on Pregnancy

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a term used for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, characterized by the gastrointestinal tract's chronic inflammation. IBD mainly affects young people, including women in their peak reproductive years.

“IBD is an incurable disease, and its relapsing and remitting nature is stressful for the estimated 3 million U.S. men and women diagnosed,” said senior author Yezaz Ghouri, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine (where??). “Because this disease tends to affect women during their peak fertility period, we wanted to know the impact of IBD on maternal and fetal outcomes. To our knowledge, this study is the most comprehensive of its kind, using data from multiple institutions in 48 states.”

The research team reviewed more than 8 million pregnancies between 2016 and 2018. Of those, 14,129 mothers had IBD. Results showed that pregnant women with IBD are at risk of developing:

• gestational diabetes
• postpartum hemorrhage
• hypertensive complications
• preterm delivery
• fetal growth restriction and
• fetal death

Pregnant women with IBD also had longer hospital stays after delivery. They averaged an additional half-day length of stay and faced more than $2,700 in associated medical costs.

“Based on our findings, we suggest that women with moderate to severe IBD should get pre-conceptional counseling and be treated aggressively to achieve remission before getting pregnant,” Ghouri said. “Our study results illustrate the importance that IBD be optimally controlled before conception.”

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Source-Eurekalert