Grant: Operating Grant: ECI grants in Maternal, Reproductive, Child & Youth Health

A significant proportion of female patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are diagnosed before or during their childbearing years. One of the difficulties faced by young women with IBD is a lack of information about how their disease will affect their pregnancy, delivery, and post-pregnancy outcomes, and how pregnancy and delivery may affect their IBD outcomes in the long-term. These fears may be magnified in women who have had prior major abdominal surgery to improve IBD control. There are a number of studies evaluating outcomes for the baby, but little data on how pregnancy and mode of delivery (vaginal vs. cesarean delivery) can affect outcomes in mothers with IBD. In this study, we will use large administrative databases from Ontario, which contain important clinical information on a substantial number of young women with IBD, to improve an understanding of maternal outcomes in women with IBD. Specifically, we will gain a detailed appreciation of the management of women with IBD in pregnancy in Ontario with respect to where care is delivered, mode of delivery, and complications after delivery. We will then determine whether maternal outcomes differ from the general population (women without IBD), and if this is influenced by mode of delivery. The proposed research is very timely in an era when IBD patients are striving to be active participants in decision making around their IBD care. This research is hugely important in allowing young women with IBD and their partners better prepare and plan for pregnancy and delivery as an important, life altering event. Our findings will be shared with relevant healthcare providers (obstetricians, family physicians, midwives, gastroenterologists, and colorectal surgeons) at conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. We will also share our findings with patients through education materials.