IBD and mums-to-be research study

However, even if a woman has active IBD at the time of conception, 1/3 will get no worse and 1/3 will actually experience improvement in their symptoms during pregnancy.

Nevertheless, women with IBD are more likely to remain voluntarily childless or, on average, have fewer children compared to women in the general population.

Moreover, a recent survey by Toomey and Waldron concluded that "there is a significant patient knowledge deficit about pregnancy and IBD resulting in unwarranted fears and anxiety".

Crohn's & Colitis UK has funded Professor Anna Madill (University of Leeds) and Dr Peter Branney (Leeds Beckett University) to research the transition to motherhood with IBD.

The aim of this research is to inform women, their partners, and healthcare providers about the experience of planning and starting a family, and coping with young children in the context of maternal IBD.

If you are a mum with IBD with at least one birth child between the ages of 2 and 7 years old, we would like to invite you to take part in a 60-minute interview about your experiences.

Find more information about the study at leeds.academia.edu/JihaneGhorayeb, or email the project researcher, Jihane Ghorayebat at ps12jg@leeds.ac.uk.

This research received ethical approval on 08 August 2014, reference 14-0141.