ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel diseases are frequent in women at their optimum age for reproduction. Possible effects on pregnancy are therefore of interest. AIM: To assess pregnancy outcomes in 212 women: 135 of whom were diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease before pregnancy and 77 after pregnancy. METHODS: A clinical birth database was examined retrospectively. Odds ratios (ORs) for the main outcomes were calculated with 95% confidence intervals; these were adjusted for confounding factors. RESULTS: Overall, pregnancy outcomes were good. No increased risk of preterm births or need for neonatal intensive care was observed. However, women with inflammatory bowel disease had more growth-retarded newborns, at an adjusted OR of 2.08 (1.26-3.44) and the mode of delivery was more frequently Caesarean section, with an OR of 2.75 (1.82-4.16). In the women who were diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease after the pregnancy, we found no difference in the obstetric outcome as compared with the general obstetric population. CONCLUSIONS: Most women with inflammatory bowel disease have a normal pregnancy outcome and, overall, inflammatory bowel disease during pregnancy poses low-to-moderate risks, the main concern being increased risk of impaired foetal growth. Normal maternal weight gain during pregnancy, possibly indicating a more stable disease, appeared to protect against adverse outcomes.
