Hi,
I am a new ostomy patient (1/13/04) after spending most of the past 11 years first with ulcerative colitis, then with ulcerative proctitis. I am a good candidate for the reversal with a J pouch later this year.
I'm responding to your post because when I was in the hospital and they told me I had to have my colon removed, my mother told me that a friend of the family has had an ileostomy since she was 13 (she's now 50). I've talked to her at length a number of times now, and she told me she had three healthy, full-term pregnancies with the ostomy, no problems whatsoever. However, my vote would be that you get the reversal before getting pregnant/having a baby, just because I can't see trying to recuperate from major surgery once you have a baby -- it's enough work just getting through the day feeling like yourself! lol So, anything you can do to get major stuff like that out of the way beforehand, I'd also suggest doing it to spare yourself the stress and inconvenience later on.
Anita