Pregnant women with inflammatory bowel disease face increased risks

(Eric Maze-Missouri/ Futurity) –– Inflammatory bowel disease (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 US men and women diagnosed,” says senior author Yezaz Ghouri, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Missouri.

“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.” (…)