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Crohns Diease and Having Kids!!!!

Hiya,

I have been diagnosed with Crohns disease for a few years now and my husband and I are thinking of having kids. I was wanting advice from others who are battling crohns disease and have managed to have a family as well?? I am worried about having a flare up while pregnant, although my specialist says that is very unlikely, but she said have a flare up soon up birth is farely frequent, how do i cope with that?? Also my specialist says that the medication I am taking is fine to get pregnant on but I have read that it can cause birth defects, wondering what I should do, I am taking azarothiapine and mesalazine.

Any thoughts would be great

Thanks
 
I understand that having kids with this disease can be scary. I was diagnosed in 2004 and had my first child in 2006. I now have three boys. To me, if I was in remission before getting pregnant things went great while pregnant. I even felt great (crohns-wise) while pregnant. I was on pentasa for all three of my pregnancies, all three boys were healthy.

I did end of having some complications with Crohn's with my last pregnancy. However, that is mainly because I was not in remission when I got pregnant. This does make a huge difference!

I would make sure that your OB knows you have crohns and that they are willing to work closely with your GI. I would also make sure the drugs you are on are considered okay with your OB, they know best.

As for the flare up after delivery, unfortunately this was true for me in all three kids. I think it has something to do with the hormone levels changing (?). However, I made it through and by then the list of medications you can safely take increases even if you decide to breast feed.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or anything. I would be glad to talk. My kids are now 8, 5 and 2.
 
Hiya,

I have been diagnosed with Crohns disease for a few years now and my husband and I are thinking of having kids. I was wanting advice from others who are battling crohns disease and have managed to have a family as well?? I am worried about having a flare up while pregnant, although my specialist says that is very unlikely, but she said have a flare up soon up birth is farely frequent, how do i cope with that?? Also my specialist says that the medication I am taking is fine to get pregnant on but I have read that it can cause birth defects, wondering what I should do, I am taking azarothiapine and mesalazine.

Any thoughts would be great

Thanks
My GI asked if I planned on becoming pregnant when he put me on aza. I'm not I have 3 teenagers but he said pregnant women should not even handle aza . I beg you to get a second opinion !!!!!!
 
Thanks guys, it makes me feel better about the pregnancy knowing plenty of others have done it and survived fine!
I will definitely get a second opinion about taking aza while being pregnant though. I guess that's the biggest thing now... i was only put on it about 8 wks ago... and my specialist said it was fine...she knew i was thinking of having children, i talked to her about it then! won't hurt to get another opinion though!
 
I am currently pregnant with my first. My GI said that whichever phase your disease is in when you get pregnant, the majority of the time it will stay that way throughout the pregnancy. I asked him about the potential for a flare up after delivery, but he seemed pretty sure that won't happen since I'm currently in remission. I have read different on here, though, so I don't know what to expect. It makes me nervous because I assume a flare up might cause more damage, and I have a very mild case of crohn's which I have been able to manage discretely so far.

I strongly suggest scheduling a pre-conception appointment with an OB. You may have to explain what you mean when scheduling because not all clinics use that term, but it is important to talk to someone specializing in pregnancy when you have medical conditions that may be of concern. I have multiple health issues and got the ok to conceive from each of my Dr.s before speaking with an OB. She told me which meds I needed to finish taking and which I had to ween off before I could go off birth control.
 
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