Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Crohns Disease Child

Question:
Does anyone have children with Crohn's because of a spouse with Crohn's or vice versa? My Fiancé and I have Crohn's Disease. We both want to have children in the future. What is the percentage of Crohn's babies being born to 2 people with Crohn's? How often are babies born with Crohn's?  We both got Crohn's much later life.  We don't want a NEWBORN to have it in the delivery room!  It is a horrid debilitating disease to live with; but, I still thank God I was born, although!

Answer:
There are several reasons for believing that IBD has a genetic component.  If a person has ulcerative colitis, there is about a 10 percent chance of IBD in other members of the extended family, with ulcerative colitis more likely than Crohn's disease.  On the other hand, if a person has Crohn's disease, there is a 25 to 30 percent chance of IBD in the extended family, with Crohn's disease more likely than ulcerative colitis.  If a person has IBD, the risk of that person's child developing IBD is thought to be about 5 percent.  It is important to recognize that this means that the child has about a 95 percent chance of not developing IBD.  However, if both parents have IBD, the risk of IBD occurring in the children seems to be at least 50 percent. According to the book, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, A Guide for Patients and their Families, by Stanley H. Stein, M.D. and Richard P. Rood, M.D., they indicate If one parent has IBD, there is approximately an 8% to 10% chance of inheriting the disease, and according to one study, if two parents have IBD the likelihood of inheriting the disease increases to up to 36%. The book doesn't indicate or give reference to it's study, but the book is An Official Publication of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America, Inc. I read in a CCFA pamphlet that there is a 36% chance of passing Crohn's  on if both parents have it (and, boy, do we both have it!!!).  I would *never* even dream of having a baby with those odds... I would never forgive myself if my child developed it.   There are entirely too many children out there that aren't loved or wanted as it is.  I'll get one of those if the urge ever strikes. My doc and I have had more than a few discussions about it, and he and I feel very, very strongly about my never carrying a child.  I don't understand how I could properly nourish and grow a baby when I can hardly keep myself nourished properly enough.  His first concern is for my well being, but I would feel terribly guilty for even thinking that I was depriving an innocent child of anything.  After all... there's so much more to having a baby than a selfish urge to procreate.  Once the cells start to divide, your life is not your own any longer.