It is important for women to monitor their IBD during and after pregnancy, as physicians are currently unable to definitively predict which patients will flare postpartum. It has been reported that ulcerative colitis patients may be at increased risk for postpartum flares.
In general, the risk for postpartum flare depends on disease control during pregnancy, and on other factors that affect disease activity (eg. smoking in Crohn’s disease).
If your medications were adjusted during pregnancy, please follow your physicians’ instructions regarding medications peri and postpartum. In some cases, if you are on a biologic, your physician may advise timing relative to delivery, in which case you should be in close contact with your physician to determine the postpartum dosing schedule.