When inflammatory bowel disease meets pregnancy.

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic and relapsing inflammatory conditions that affect the gastrointestinal tract. Women of reproductive age comprise a significant proportion of patients with IBD. The management of IBD during pregnancy presents unique and complex challenges that have garnered increasing attention recently. Moreover, considerable attention has been directly toward the safety of novel treatments for IBD during pregnancy. This review summarises the complex interaction between pregnancy and IBD, the special management of IBD during pregnancy, and the effects of early life events on IBD of offspring.