For patients without access to IBD experts and MFM subspecialists, any gastroenterologist, obstetrician/gynecologist, or specialized physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or midwife can follow the care pathway to optimize outcomes. %%EOF %PDF-1.5 %���� If a woman is doing well and in remission, there is every reason to expect the pregnancy to proceed smoothly. In the U.S., 1.6 million people have IBD. In addition, a recent survey by AGA found that more than 40 percent (n=108) of surveyed clinicians at obstetrician/gynecologist (OB/GYN) practices who treat this patient population feel the quality of information women with IBD receive about pregnancy, as it relates to their condition, is inadequate compared to patients with other immune-mediated disorders.“In the United States, 1.6 million people have inflammatory bowel disease and of those, roughly half are women who will carry the diagnosis through their childbearing years,” says Uma Mahadevan, MD, AGAF, AGA spokesperson, IBD Parenthood Project program chair and Professor of Medicine at the Colitis and Crohn’s Disease Center, University of California, San Francisco.Among the published recommendations, the new pathway suggests pregnant women with IBD coordinate their care with a maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) subspecialist, who can determine the type of monitoring needed and frequency of prenatal visits with an obstetric provider, and be followed by a gastroenterologist (GI) with a clear expertise in IBD.“We recommend a patient’s gastroenterologist coordinate her inflammatory bowel disease care and see the patient regularly throughout her pregnancy in close collaboration with her maternal-fetal medicine subspecialist, who has expertise in high-risk pregnancies and will lead her pregnancy-related care in concert with the patient’s delivery provider,” says Christopher Robinson, MD, MSCR, FACOG, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine spokesperson, IBD Parenthood Project working group member and maternal-fetal medicine physician, Roper St. Francis Healthcare and Summerville Medical Center. It is also not advised that a woman become pregnant when starting a new medication.

TUESDAY, Jan. 29, 2019 (HealthDay News) — The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) report, Uma Mahadevan, M.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues created these evidence-based materials to empower patients and facilitate conversations with health care providers.

Employers can also post open positions. (1) This is an emotional period for prospective parents, and clinicians need to be aware that the patients’ (and their partners’) perceptions of risks and benefit may be different from those of their doctors’. Evidence-based recommendations to guide your clinical decisions.More than 16,000 professionals worldwide call AGA their professional home.Tools to maximize efficiency and help you deliver high-quality care.Funding opportunities and other initiatives advancing discovery.Resources designed for early career gastroenterologists.Caring for women of childbearing age with IBD requires complex decisions and coordination among multiple medical specialties. New Guidelines Introduced for Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Pregnancy. impact of pregnancy on IBD and maternal health.4–6 Often-times, the default is to stop all therapies through pregnancy and lactation, despite the significant risk of worsening dis-ease activity, which is the greatest known risk to pregnancy outcome.7 By looking at only one part of the puzzle, the greater picture of maternal and infant health is missed.

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) report, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in Pregnancy Clinical Care Pathway, was published online January 15 in Gastroenterology.