BATON ROUGE, LA (WGMB) – Baton Rouge Clinic Gastroenterologist Dr. Stephanie Cauble says a lot medicines are okay to take if you have gastrointestinal illnesses and want to get pregnant.
“One big question in patients that have some chronic GI illnesses, such as inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn’s, at least for young women is, is it safe for me to get pregnant, and if I do get pregnant, is it safe for me to continue my medications? This is something that is important to talk to both your gastroenterologist and your OB about,” said Dr. Cauble. “The most important thing going into pregnancy is to have your disease well-controlled. So, it is important to treat you, yourself, before treating your baby.”
Another GI disease Dr. Cauble says can cause fertility issues is celiac disease.
“One that has come up recently is celiac disease, and celiac is a gluten allergy. It can be diagnosed by your gastroenterologist. It’s suggested by an abnormal blood test, but is diagnosed by an endoscopy. When treated, your fertility can return to normal, but this is something to consider if there are problems with fertility,” explained Dr. Cauble. “Often, it can cause diarrhea or malabsorption. You may have weight loss. It can cause things like osteoporosis, abnormal liver tests, or fertility issues. So, it’s just something to consider.”
Dr. Cauble said if this is you, don’t be worried, just get checked to make sure you and your future baby are safe.