Maternal inflammatory bowel disease during pregnancy is not a risk factor for long-term morbidity of the offspring

Background and Aims: To investigate whether offspring of women suffering from inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] during their pregnancy are at an increased risk for long-term paediatric morbidity. Methods: In this population-based cohort study, we investigated the incidence of long-term [up to the age of 18 years] hospitalizations due to cardiovascular, endocrine, neurological, haematological, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urinary paediatric morbidities of offspring of mothers affected by IBD during their pregnancy. Deliveries occurred between the years 1991 and 2014 in a regional tertiary medical centre. Newborns with congenital malformations as well as multiple pregnancies were excluded from the study. Results: During the study period, 255 352 deliveries met the inclusion criteria; 278 offspring were born to mothers with IBD. During the follow-up period, children born to mothers with IBD did not have an increased risk for long-term [up to the age of 18 years] morbidity compared with the control group. Conclusion: Maternal IBD during pregnancy is not a risk factor for long-term paediatric morbidity of the offspring.