I just found out that I'm pregnant yesterday! I'd be interested to hear any other recent experiences with j pouch pregnancies. My first pregnancy (pre-j pouch) with my son went very smoothly, even with UC at the time. It'll be interesting to see how this one is different.

Hi, 

I just wanted to ask for tips with falling pregnant with a jpouch. We want to start trying and any advice would be great. We are both tested and we were told we couldn't have any problem getting pregnant. I'm also just scared but really want to have a baby.

First of all, if your OB says it's okay, try natural delivery! My pouch is 10 years old and I've had two beautiful babies and am expecting number 3 this spring (that's 3 kids since 2014). 

My first pregnancy I had a high risk OB and delivered at a hospital that had a GI team on deck if an emergency were to occur (which is rare). There were no issues so my second I visited my high risk OB a couple times but saw a regularly OB and delighted at a regular hospital. With this one I have a midwife and will deliver at the same hospital. Just err on the side of caution until you know how your body handles delivery.

I DID find that following pregnancy, if I have pouchitis I can have incontience (just at night....maybe every 3 nights IF I CURRENTLY HAVE A BOUT OF POUCHITIS). Otherwise, no issues! 

I really didn't notice anything different with my pouch and output in pregnancy, but I also have relatively easy ones.

I hope this helps and I wish you the very best!!

Lydia

Just posting here in case anyone lurks in the further. I had severe morning sickness in early pregnancy that manifested as pretty severe diarrhea. I lost 10 pounds (that I didn't have) and worked around the clock to keep hydration up. Luckily I avoided a hospital admission and thanks to ensure + calories I have now gained 5 pounds back (now happily in second tri). I continue to manage ongoing struggles to maintain my weight so I don't lose and to keep hydrated. 

I've also experienced a lot of stretching and pulling from my scar tissue/adhesions breaking up. I'm putting that here because it took me awhile to learn that this was not a part of "normal" early pregnancy. 

That being said I love being pregnant and am so grateful for IVF technology. I've been reading the literature and having dialogue with my active physicians who believe that a c-section is the best approach for delivery. 

I am always available if anyone has any questions (keeping in mind I haven't experienced 3rd tri/ delivery yet)

Thanks for sharing! I had my first trimester ultrasound today and it went well. �� My surgeon has told me multiple times that his patients who have regular deliveries do just fine. I would still like to learn more before making the c-section/natural delivery call. One thing I would be worried about is pushing...I never push when using the bathroom because I don't want to hurt the j pouch in any way. I feel like I would be so aware of not wanting to hurt the pouch that I would be inhibited from pushing out a baby. Is that something to be worried about?

Could you ask your surgeon for the research he/she has backing up their claims. I would be hesitant to go on "hearsay" because most of the complications from typical births happen years down the road 

Generally speaking, the concerns about vaginal delivery have been for the long term health and strength of the sphincter muscle, not any immediate dangers or complications.  Since vaginal deliveries can impact the strength and tone of the sphincter in woman with NO bowel issues, the concern is that with a j-pouch the function of that muscle is more important than for those without and weakening it may cause continence issues later on.  Unfortunately, no way to know if this will affect you or not, or how likely it is.  So you have to determine with your doctors the risk, and you need to decide how you would feel about it if this did become an issue.

One other thing to consider though.  I had a perm ileo at the time I had my babies.  My high risk OB was fine with me trying vaginal delivery (sphincter not an issue for me) but he did caution that if he needed to do an emergency c section, he would not be able to take any special care with my bowels.  By doing a planned c-section, he was able to be more conscious of what he was doing since it wasn't an emergency situation.  I opted for c-sections mostly because of this and because dr felt unless I had small babies (under 7lbs) a vaginal delivery would be very difficult for me.

My "babies" are now 11 and 8 1/2 :-)

Hi there,

I'm similar to Mrs. H, my pouch is about 10 years old. I had my daughter about 2 years ago and I was surprised to find that I felt a little better than normal "pouch wise" while pregnant. I found the pregnancy hormones slowed down my pouch a bit which was a nice break. My doctor was very optimistic about a vaginal delivery so I attempted this route and it went great! Had a bit of tearing as most women do with their first but no problems with my pouch. For me personally, I didn't experience anything out of the norm pouch wise post partum. I am now 30 weeks pregnant with second baby and again my doctors are optimistic about a vaginal delivery. So we shall see how it goes! As I write this I want to be sensitive to the fact that many women have had a really tough time with pregnancy and delivery. Even just the decision for vaginal vs c-section is a tough one. But whatever you decide will be the best decision for you in the end. Our bodies are pretty amazing!

sincerely,

Lisa

Hi everyone! Your posts are so refreshing and encouraging so thank you all SO MUCH. Both of my tubes are blocked with hydrosalpinx. I need to have them removed in 2 weeks before going for IVF. Has anyone else had their tubes removed before ivf?? Really feeling positive after all of your amazing results xx