Fertility and Pregnancy complications in Women with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Author(s):

Jalaleddin Naghshbandi1 , Homayoon Vahedi2 , Reza Malekzadeh3 , Asrin Babahajian4

Background and Aim: The inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) affect young people of reproductive age. There is little knowledge about complications from IBD during pregnancy and delivery. Here, we aimed to evaluate the possible IBD effects on Fertility and pregnancy.

Materials and Methods: This observational study was conducted on female IBD patients aged between 15 and 50 years who were referred to the GI clinic of Shariati Hospital from 2013-2017. Details on disease activity, prenatal complications, delivery, and neonatal outcome were collected through the medical report.

Results: Among 1156 enrolled patients, 87.2% had UC and 12.8% had CD. About 40.2% of women had children. There was a history of infertility in 54 (7.4%) of subjects. No significant relation was found between the type of inflammatory bowel disease and the fertility status (P=0.47). However, the infertility rate in patients with Crohn's disease (9.5%) was significantly higher than in patients with ulcerative colitis (4%) (P = 0.006).

The low age of the diagnosis was associated with a reduction in fertility (having a child) (p<0.001, r = 0.30) and an increase in abortion (p<0.004, r = 0.80) in the study population.

Conclusion: The rate of infertility in people with Crohn's disease is higher than in people with ulcerative colitis, and the younger the age of onset of inflammatory bowel disease, the lower the fertility rate and the higher the risk of pregnancy complications, including miscarriage.

Key Word: Inflammatory Bowel Disease; ulcerative colitis; Crohn's disease; Fertility; Pregnancy complications

Accepted: June 15, 2024 

Scientific Journal of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences No.137/ Jun –July 2025/75-82