Study finds inflammatory bowel disease increases risk for pregnant women

Compared to pregnant women without IBD, pregnant women with inflammatory bowel disease and their unborn children suffer more risks and problems. These are the conclusions of a recent study which examined the outcomes of more than 8 million pregnancies. The research was led by the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the findings were published in the journal International Journal of Colorectal Disease. IBD is a term used for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which are characterised by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. IBD mainly affects young people, which includes women who are 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. “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,” he added.