Management of Medical Problems in Pregnancy — Inflammatory Bowel Disease

WHETHER diagnosed as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, chronic nonspecific inflammatory bowel disease is particularly likely to afflict young adults. It is therefore not at all unusual to encounter women with inflammatory bowel disease who are pregnant or would like to become pregnant. The care of such patients frequently raises difficult questions, because all aspects of inflammatory bowel disease — its diagnosis, complications, and treatment — have serious implications for the pregnant patient. During pregnancy, the patient requires particularly rigorous care, but the basic principles of caring for such patients do not change. Indeed, they should be followed more closely . . .