ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Patients with Crohn's disease (CD) may have perineal lesions or a history of anorectal surgery that raise concerns about complications during delivery resulting in a discussion of cesarean section. Our objective was to study the impact of CD on the mode of delivery. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective study between 2005 and 2019 of the pregnancy outcomes of patients with CD. The primary endpoint was the performance of a cesarean section for a reason related to CD. RESULTS: Among 76 consecutive pregnancies, 19 patients underwent CD-related cesarean section (25%). The main element associated with scheduling a cesarean section was the existence of perineal involvement in 94.7% of cases, compared to 12.3% in the rest of the CD population (p<0.05). The perineal lesions most often involved were fistulas (47.4% versus 1.7%; p = 0.042). There was a history of perineal surgery in 78.9% of cases in the cesarean group vs 10,5% (p < 0.05) and a history of obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI) in 10.5% of cases vs. 0 (p = 0.047). In women who gave birth vaginally, there were 17.9% episiotomy and one case of OASI (2.6%). CONCLUSION: The factors that influenced the choice of delivery route were perineal damage, history of perineal surgery and history of OASI.