When it is considered that the peak age ranges for pregnancy and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) coincide, it is inevitable that the gastroenterologist and the obstetrician will see an increasing number of pregnant women with either ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. Nevertheless, meaningful data on the course and management of IBD have been limited by the following circumstances: First, the classic studies of pregnancy in patients with Crohn's disease<sup>23 Crohn B.B., Yarmis H., Korelitz B.I. Regional ileitis and pregnancy Gastroenterology 1956 ;  31 : 615-628

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références</sup> and ulcerative colitis<sup>1 Abrahamson D., Jankelson I.R., Milner L.R. Pregnancy and colitis Am J Obstet Gynecol 1951 ;  61 : 121-129

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références, 10 Banks B.M., Korelitz B.I., Zetzel L. The course of nonspecific ulcerative colitis: A review of twenty years experience and late results Gastroenterology 1957 ;  32 : 983-1012

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références, 22 Crohn B.B., Yarmis H., Crohn E.B. , et al. Ulcerative colitis and pregnancy Gastroenterology 1956 ;  30 : 391-403

Cliquez ici pour aller à la section Références</sup> were reported in the 1950s. Although these studies provided meaningful information on the natural course, they preceded the modern era of drug therapy. Furthermore, patients treated with corticosteroids during that period were not clearly separated from those who were not, and the drug therapy of pregnant patients was inconsistent. Second, in the early and even later studies, there was no patient stratification. In Crohn's disease, no meaningful distinction was made among ileitis, ileocolitis, and colitis or among unoperated, operated with no recurrence, and operated with recurrence. Furthermore, little mention was made of the complications of strictures, abscesses, fistulas, and previous intestinal obstruction. In ulcerative colitis, little distinction was made among proctitis, proctosigmoiditis, left-sided colitis, and universal colitis. Third, subsequent advances in drug therapy and understanding of the pathophysiology of IBD have led to a large number of permutations of disease types, anatomic distributions, disease complications, and administered drugs; this heterogenicity of clinical presentation and therapy further decreases the clinical usefulness of the classic studies. There also were no controlled trials of drug therapy during pregnancy. Because of these problems, even the largest studies of IBD and pregnancy included a variety of case material, so that conclusions can be made only tentatively. Despite these limitations, some conclusions have been reached and have been confirmed by numerous investigators. The following generalities may be considered as reasonable premises that have been repeatedly substantiated.