Inflammatory bowel disease increases risks for pregnant women

(Science Daily) — Pregnant women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and their babies face increased risks and complications compared to pregnant women without IBD. Those are the findings from a new University of Missouri School of Medicine study that examined outcomes of more than 8 million pregnancies.

IBD is a term used for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, which are characterized 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. (…)