The influence of inflammatory bowel disease and its treatment on pregnancy and fetal outcome.

The influence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and its therapy upon pregnancy is a frequent consideration before and after conception. We looked at the influence of disease activity and drug therapy during pregnancy on fetal outcome in 147 pregnancies in 124 women. Patients were divided into two groups; 46 (28 ulcerative colitis, 18 Crohn's disease) who received drug treatment during pregnancy, and 101 (42 ulcerative colitis, 59 Crohn's disease) who received no treatment. The frequency of fetal complications was higher than in the general population in the "treated" patients, but was not higher than in patients with IBD who received no drug treatment. Active IBD was present in 43% of the treated patients whose pregnancies resulted in fetal complications. Of patients with Crohn's disease whose pregnancies resulted in fetal complications, active IBD was present in 62.5%. Thus, our experience suggests that patients with IBD who receive therapy during pregnancy are at greater risk of fetal complications than the average population, but that disease activity is more likely to be responsible for this risk than drug treatment. This risk is much more evident in active Crohn's disease than in ulcerative colitis.