Inflammatory bowel disease in pregnancy: Developing a multidisciplinary care pathway in East London.

Abstract

Evaluate the management of pregnant women with inflammatory bowel disease. We collected data from maternity records for women with IBD who gave birth at The Royal London Hospital between January 2018 and February 2019. Twenty-three pregnancies were identified where 8/23 (35%) women had a peri-conception flare and 7/23 (30%) had a flare during pregnancy. Two women received pre-conception counselling. The obstetric medicine team reviewed a patient on average three times and the gastroenterologists twice, during pregnancy. Nine women (39%) gave birth pre-term. Mean birthweight was lower in the group with active disease at conception compared with those in remission (2173 g vs. 2807 g, p = 0.03). Women with IBD should all receive pre-conception counselling to reduce the risk of pregnancy complications. By developing a multidisciplinary care pathway for pregnant women with IBD (which includes a joint obstetric/gastroenterology clinic), this will ensure care is standardised throughout the pregnancy and puerperium.