Impact of Disease Activity on Pregnancy Outcomes
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Shah K.
Kaler M.
Parkes G.
Lindsay J.O.
Kok, K. B.
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2025
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Introduction: Active inflammatory bowel disease in pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Understanding patterns of disease activity may inform strategies for improving outcomes. Aims and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of pregnancies managed through an IBD-antenatal clinic between August 2020 and January 2025. Patients were stratified into 2 groups based on disease activity during pregnancy. Active disease was defined using the Physician Global Assessment, symptoms, and biomarkers (CRP and/or FCP). Disease flare was defined by an increase in symptoms and/or biomarkers from their baseline. Disease activity was assessed pre-conception (within 6 months before pregnancy) during pregnancy and post-partum (up to 6 months post birth). Result(s): Of 209 pregnancies (Table 1), 76.3% (n=158) were in remission and 23.7% (n=49) had active disease pre-conception. Among those with active disease, 81.6% (n=40) remained active into pregnancy, while 18.4% (n=9) achieved remission. Of those in remission at pre-conception, 73.4% (n=116) stayed in remission during pregnancy, and 24.7% (n=39) flared. 2 patients with no pre-conception data were active in pregnancy. Of 125 patients in remission during pregnancy, 73.6% (n=92) stayed in remission post-partum and 12.0% (n=15) flared. Among 81 patients with active disease in pregnancy, 39.5% (n=32) remained active, and 53.0% (n=43) achieved remission post-partum. Patients in remission through pregnancy had a higher mean BMI (24.5 vs 23.0 kg/m<sup>2</sup>, p=0.027), were more likely to be of white ethnicity compared to minority ethnic groups (61.0% vs 38.4% p=0.0026), have a diagnosis of Crohn's disease (58.6% vs 37.0%, p=0.0088), and be nulliparous (51.2% vs 35.0%, p=0.0414). At conception, approximately 30% of patients in both groups were not receiving any treatment. During pregnancy, this proportion fell to 8.6% in the active group, reflecting therapy escalation. Use of biologics increased from 22.2% to 38.2% in the active group and remained stable at 36.0% in the remission group. Corticosteroid use was exclusive to the active disease cohort (6.2% at conception; 23.5% during pregnancy). Active disease in pregnancy was associated with higher rates of adverse outcomes: gestational diabetes (12.3% vs 8.0%, p=0.001), fetal growth restriction (4.9% vs 0%, p=0.044), and low birth weight (<2500g: 14.6% vs 2.4%, p=0.015). While rates of small for gestational age infants were higher in the active group (9.9% vs 4.0%), this was not statistically significant. Emergency c-sections were more common in the active group (29.9% vs 15.0%, p=0.03), while elective c-sections were more frequent in the remission group (27.5% vs 13.4%, p = 0.03). Women in remission more often had an intact perineum (63.6% vs 54.7%), while episiotomy was more frequent in those with active disease (18.8% vs 11.7%); both did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion(s): This study underscores the impact of active IBD on maternal and neonatal outcomes. Nearly 1 in 4 women in remission at preconception flared during pregnancy. This highlights the need for effective pre-conception counselling, access to disease monitoring tools, multidisciplinary management and timely treatment optimisation to sustain remission during pregnancy.
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United.Eur.Gastroenterol.J.