Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis and Pregnancy

The decision to have a child is an important one, and there are many things to think about before you take the plunge. For people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease there is an extra layer of considerations to add to the list.

When I spoke to my doctor, he told me about the 'thirds' rule. That generally speaking women with IBD who get pregnant find that one third feel worse, one third feel better and one third feel the same. Not a very helpful rule in my opinion. My research has found a consistent statistic that if you are in a flare-up when you conceive, you will possibly feel worse and potentially have more complications than if you are in remission. So if possible, try to time a pregnancy between flare-ups. I was in remission and my own pregnancy went pretty smoothly.