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Pregnancy Forum > Pregnancy Forum > Is Chrohn's Disease inherited? Is pregnancy safe?
Crohn's Disease is a chronic disorder that affects digestion. But what is Crohns and what causes the disease? And how to avoid the risk factors of Crohn's?...
Can you identify symptoms of Crohn's Disease? Learn more about the range of symptoms from mild to severe in this section on Crohn's symptoms here. ...
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Q: Is Chrohn's Disease inherited? Is pregnancy safe?
asked by: DoctorQuestion on April 15th, 2007
I have actually 2 questions to you.
The first one is: I have strong pain in my lower left side of my belly prior to my daily bowel movement for the last few months. Is that normal?
And mysecond and mybe more important question is:
I am 26, married, but have no children yet, because of my Chron's. I am afraid to get pregnant. We would like to have children soon and we want them so badly...but I would like to have healthy children.Is it safe to get pregnant with Chron's disease and what are the conditions?What should I do to have a healthy baby? Is he going to born with Chron's disease also?How many children do you think I could have with my sickness?
I would like to have your oppinion on this. Please help.


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Dr. Nikola Gjuzelov , MD
replied on April 24th, 2007
Pregnancy Answer A2639
Experiencing strong pain in the abdomen is not normal... we can't be sure about the reason you are experiencing this symptom. Certainly, Crohn’s disease can cause abdominal pain. Crohn’s disease is a chronic intestinal autoimmune inflammatory disease with an unknown etiology, or cause. However, you might want to request diagnostic exams to correctly diagnose the symptom before assuming the cause to be Chrohn's. Further, the disease’s severity can vary over time. With medications, Chrohn’s disease can be put under control.
Women with Crohn’s disease can conceive and deliver healthy children. Children do not receive Crohn’s disease directly from their parents. They only inherit the genes responsible for the development of Crohn’s disease. If the child inherits the gene (called NOD2) , however, it doesn’t mean that disease will occur for sure. It is believed that there are also some environmental factors that can provoke Crohn’s disease. Infection with the bacteria Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis(MAP), for example, one environmental factor that triggers the developments of Crohn’s disease.
Women with active Crohn’s disease should wait to conceive until they are in remission from the disease. They can stop taking medicines for the disease during pregnancy (if Chrohn's is in remission)... but only after consultation with their doctor. If the disease flares-up during pregnancy and a woman is forced to take medicines for Crohn’s disease (corticosteroids and sulphasalasine), there is a very low risk for fetal damage due to medications.
You should consult your doctor before trying to conceive or if you are already pregnant.



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