IVF, Pregnancy and Birth - Crohns/Autoimmune Disease Impacts?

PrincessJo, I had my first daughter after a 5 year struggle with infertility. That was before my IBD diagnosis, so I can't say whether having an autoimmune disease made the process harder. Going through IVF is hard no matter how you slice it, and my best advice to you is to find a support group to help you through it all. I did my IVFs starting in 1996, and found my support network online, although the web was just a baby then - the women I met online are still my friends. Almost all of them succeeded in building their families through IVF, some eventually chose adoption, but we're all now raising kids and still helping each other out.

After the birth of my first daughter we started a new round of IVF when she was 15 months old (I was 38 then and not getting any younger). We did not succeed and I was d.o.ne. with ART. My husband convinced me to go one more round, but in the midst of waiting for my body to settle down from the failed IVF I conceived spontaneously and had my 2nd daughter in 2002. During that time of trying/failing/getting a surprise pg I knew I had IBD and was trying to figure all that out. I couldn't tell if any of the IVF treatments affected my bowel disease.

But here's something I can tell you - pregnancy was great for my sacroileitis. Having that huge uterus to support my pelvis was awesome. Post pregnancy was awful though, as my core muscles were not able to keep up with the baby's weight and activity level, and I ended up doing a lot of physical therapy when my kids were small. And the post-partum joint pain, especially in my feet, was remarkably bad. And the post-partum IBD flare.

The general rule of thumb for women with autoimmune disease is that 1/3 will flare in pregnancy, 1/3 will go into spontaneous remission, and 1/3 will have no change. For me, the IBD was gone during pregnancy but my asthma was difficult to control. Post partum is when I had the most difficulty with IBD (and that's how I got diagnosed, too, after my first daughter was born).

I wish you the best of luck with IVF. Use the CDC's website to help you understand which ART practices in your area are best suited for your particular set of issues. Get a support group lined up. Get ready for the emotional rollercoaster of the hormone shots. And get ready to be a mom!

My experience is from when IVF was fairly new - my kids are 19 and 22. I was diagnosed with Crohns in 1981. My tubes were completely blocked with scar tissue (multiple surgeries in 1981). So I was fast tracked into the infertility camp. Because of all my surgeries, I was a ground breaker in a number of ways - my implantations were not done via the small lap incision but vaginally. In fact everything was done vaginally. I was written up in journals (and not for the first time -lol).

As i said, i was lucky. I went thru 5 attempts and got 2 healthy kids, which is a 40% success rate! I was his first repeat customer. Many things have changed, now they make you qualify with a psychologist. There were no support groups, although I found two on-line - one on the very ancient usenet technology, and the other thru an email list group (very cumbersome). I would definitely recommend finding a support group. It is grueling - physically, emotionally, mentally. I drove 2 hours away daily to get bloodwork done since I live in the boonies. Five times. So I highly recommend support in as many forms as you can find it.

The other thing I did that I would not recommend for anyone who has had surgery is to do a VBAC. My first birth was fine, I actually recovered quickly from the C-section. But pushing the 2nd one out I swear caused my adhesions to tear and led to years of severe pain. I don't recommend it!

The best part is that I was the healthiest I had ever been during both pregnancies. I felt great! All those hormones did my Crohns a world of good.

Best of luck to you!

Hi Jo-

I have no experience with IVF, but I did have a subtotal resection in 2007, with three repeat exploratory abdominal surgeries. I had the full incision. earlier this year I gave birth to my first child through c-section. My OB specialist and oncologist chose for me to have a c-section for a couple of reasons: one, I have an RV fistula that puts pressure on my girl area, and two, when I flair my tissue becomes "mushy" and they were afraid a vaginal delivery would cause me to tear into my rectum and would be extremely hard to repair because of the CD.

Though a part of me is a little sad that I didn't have a vaginal birth, most of me is happy about the C because it was the EASIEST surgery I have EVER had. They chose to give me a classical incision (vertical) along my old scar line instead of doing the horizonal pubic one. If you have an existing vertical scar and you have a horizontal incision c section they call it "the anchor" and the intersecting points can make it hard to heal. But there are definitely people who do it that way.

Good luck! babies are great! I love mine dearly and it was totally worth it even though there were many people who said I was crazy for trying.