Women with lBD can have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies

Women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, can have healthy pregnancies with proper planning and care.

A recent major initiative from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), The IBD Parenthood Project, educates women with IBD about how to manage their condition to avert risks while conceiving, carrying a child and giving birth.

On the project's website, women who are pregnant or considering pregnancy can find a toolkit that includes fact sheets, a discussion guide and a checklist of questions to go over with their doctors.

The project seeks to address common worries, such as whether medications for IBD are harmful during pregnancy and fears about passing on the disease to a newborn.

The IBD Parenthood Project advises women to talk with health care providers “early in the process” of family planning and work with a team of specialists to develop an individualized treatment plan.

Because inflammatory bowel diseases typically flare up and go into remission periodically, the goal is to avoid flares, considered risky during pregnancy.