Study shows that Fertility Rates are Lower in Women Suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

A study just released confirms what I have always suspected, the negative effect of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) on fertility. Before becoming a fertility specialist, I was specialising in gut health and hormones and I was astounded at how related they were.

In over 90% of my patients, there was a direct correlation between gut health and hormonal health, for example, it was very rare that I saw a patient with IBS who also did not have difficulties with their periods.

Here is an excerpt from the study printed in Physicians Weekly on Friday 25th September 2020.

Emma Druvefors, from County Hospital Ryhov in Jönköping, Sweden, and colleagues used the Swedish National Patient Register to identify 27,331 women with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), aged 15 to 44 years in 1964 to 2014 to assess differences in fertility compared to 131,892 matched individuals without IBD.

The researchers found that the fertility rate in women with IBD was 1.52 births per 1,000 person-years versus 1.62 in unaffected individuals. In all IBD subtypes, fertility was impaired (hazard ratios: Crohn disease [CD], 0.88; IBD-unclassified [IBD-U], 0.86; ulcerative colitis [UC], 0.96).

In my experience, it is not just the more severe diagnosis such as inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis or, Crohn's disease, which affects fertility but also the less severe diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

The researchers also found that the diagnosis of irritable bowel disorder IBD was more common in women who used contraceptives both before and after their diagnosis of IBD, which is a conclusion that I have come to after seeing 100s of women.

If you have been trying to conceive for some time and have chronic or relapsing diarrhea, diarrhea alternating with constipation. Stools containing blood and mucus. Severe abdominal pains, cramping, bloating, weight loss, and fatigue, then it is worth considering that your gut health could be the reason you are not conceiving.

So why is gut health so important for fertility?

Your gut does so much more than digest, absorb, and excrete food. Your gut influences the health of every system in your body. It is responsible for the proper function of your immune system, how you think and feel, how you synthesize and excrete hormones and it influences your fertility too.

Chronic diarrhea affects the absorption of vitamins and minerals, from your food meaning your body is not getting the nourishment it needs to be healthy.

The bottom line is when your gut isn’t functioning properly, other systems of the body suffer immensely.

Your gut health plays a vital role in immune function. When our immune system isn’t working optimally, our bodies enter a state of chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation affects the hormones necessary for fertility, leading to poor egg quality, PCOS, endometriosis, and imbalances in the delicate levels of estrogen and progesterone, which stop fertilization and the egg implanting properly.

Recent research has found that women with recurrent pregnancy loss show a higher prevalence of undiagnosed gut disorders. In particular, women with recurrent pregnancy loss were found to have abnormal gut permeability (leaky gut) which was found to contribute to inflammatory reactions in the body.

What can be done homeopathically?

The good news is, homeopathy has a lot to offer to heal the gut and very quickly. For my fertility patients, with gut health issues, the first prescription involves detoxing the contraceptive pill, detoxing antibiotics, and giving a homeopathic probiotic to rebalance the gut. This alongside other remedies chosen specifically for your case helps to rebalance the gut, lowering inflammation, and those uncomfortable symptoms associated with it, normally within just two months.

By detoxing the contraceptive pill, antibiotics and using a homeopathic probiotic I have 91% of resolving IBS in one consultation.

References

Fertility Rates Lower in Women with Inflammatory Bowel Disease 28/9/20

Natasha Burns is a Fertility Homeopath from Cornwall, UK. She helps couples from around the world have healthy babies, naturally.

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