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. 2022 Aug;23(8-9):473-481.
doi: 10.1111/1751-2980.13128. Epub 2022 Oct 31.

Pregnancy outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease: Data from a large cohort survey

Tommaso Innocenti  1   2 , Jenny Roselli  1   2 , Alice Taylor  1 , Gabriele Dragoni  1   2   3 , Erica Nicola Lynch  1   2 , Claudia Campani  4 , Matteo Gottin  1   2 , Siro Bagnoli  2 , Giuseppe Macrì  2 , Francesca Rogai  2 , Stefano Milani  1 , Andrea Galli  1 , Monica Milla  2
Affiliations

Pregnancy outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease: Data from a large cohort survey

Tommaso Innocenti et al. J Dig Dis. 2022 Aug.

Abstract

Objectives: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can affect young and reproductively active patients. Our aim was to analyze pregnancy outcomes in a large cohort of women with IBD.

Methods: All women with at least one pregnancy were given a questionnaire regarding the outcome of their pregnancy. They were divided into IBD pregnancies and controls depending on whether pregnancy occurred within or over 10 years prior to the diagnosis of IBD.

Results: Three hundred questionnaires were analyzed for a total of 478 pregnancies that led to live-born babies. Age at conception was older in IBD women than in the controls. Active smoking was more frequent in the control group. The risk of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) was higher in IBD pregnancies (odds ratio [OR] 3.028, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.245-7.370, P = 0.013). The week of gestation at delivery was lower in the IBD population. And the risk of cesarean section was higher in IBD pregnancies (OR 1.963, 95% CI 1.274-3.028, P = 0.002). Among women with IBD pregnancy, the risk of preterm birth was higher in patients with active disease at the time of conception (OR 4.088, 95% CI 1.112-15.025, P = 0.030), but lower in patients who continued regular therapy during pregnancy. Similarly, the risk of urgent cesarean section was reduced in the case of disease remission, while the risk of a planned cesarean delivery was higher in patients with perianal disease (OR 11.314, 95% CI 3.550-36.058, P < 0.01).

Conclusions: Our study shows a higher risk of IUGR, cesarean section, and poor blood pressure control in IBD pregnancies. We emphasize the importance of achieving disease remission before considering pregnancy.

Keywords: cesarean section; delivery; inflammatory bowel diseases; intrauterine growth restriction; pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flowchart of patient enrollment. Abbreviation: IBD, inflammatory bowel disease
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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