Key Insights from Crohn’s & Colitis Congress® 2025: Revolutionary Research, Pregnancy Considerations, AI Innovations, and More

Crohn’s & Colitis Congress 2025 is in the books—and the revolutionary research and all the work being done behind the scenes for the IBD community are exhilarating and promising. Having been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease nearly 20 years ago, I had the opportunity to serve as a patient reporter for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. As a patient leader, blogger, and an IBD mom of three young kids, I left San Francisco feeling hopeful and energized about what’s to come. 

One of the most powerful remarks shared during the conference was “Don’t treat women with fear. Treat them with science and logic.” Despite the research available for the IBD community, there’s still a great deal of fear and uncertainty among women about the safety of medications in pregnancy and breastfeeding, their body’s ability to carry a child, and a worry about passing along the disease to offspring. To inform patients, it was recommended that providers be more proactive about family planning discussions and be two steps ahead so patients can make better informed choices about their future. The key is ensuring patients are equipped with accurate information that empowers them to become a mom if that’s their hope and dream.

Another powerful quote shared during a pregnancy session was, “Family planning may not be in the thought process of the patient you’re looking at face to face right now—but you also want to address who she’ll be in 10-15 years when she may want to try for a baby.” This was powerful to me. When I was diagnosed with Crohn’s at age 21, I did not have “babies on the brain”—but I did know that one day I hoped to be a mom.

Prior to conception, the recommendation is for women to be in remission for 3–6 months. Providers should consult with patients to see how long they’ve been trying for a baby to determine if fertility support is needed. IVF success rates in IBD patients are thought to be similar to those in individuals without IBD. Discussing lifestyle factors early in the family planning process enables whole-body health to be optimized. Levels should be checked for B12, iron, and vitamin D. Ideally, pregnancy should be avoided while anemic.

It’s important to emphasize the need for continuing medication during pregnancy and postpartum, while highlighting its safety. Research shows when women go off medication at 24 weeks gestation, they are at greater risk for flaring. Active inflammation leads to worse outcomes for both mom and baby. Certain medications, like S1P agents and JAK inhibitors, should be continued if they are the only viable option. Methotrexate should be stopped at least three months before conception. Once pregnant, women with IBD are at a greater risk for preeclampsia and should begin taking a daily baby aspirin starting at 12-16 weeks gestation.

The mental health of mom is paramount and there needs to be a normalization of discussing struggles with patients, as IBD pregnancies bring about unique stressors and anxiety. This can include providing relaxation techniques and postpartum strategies.

The Future of AI and IBD

Advanced intelligence is a hot topic in the IBD field as well. There were some exciting ideas shared that are currently in clinical trials. One being IBD Aware, a biochemical wearable that looks at sweat and inflammatory markers. Its findings are similar to those shown through a stool sample, without having to go through the hassle! This sweat sticker offers real-time measurements and enables non-invasive disease monitoring; and the trial includes patients being hospitalized, those in outpatient settings, and pediatric patients. You can think of it as “perspiration calprotectin,” showing active disease versus remission. This could help providers assess patients and stay one step ahead of predicting a flare that may be on the horizon.

The AI Scribe enables providers to fully engage with patients while allowing this new ambience tool to listen and write notes during clinic visits and beyond. Once a patient gives their consent, this tool can capture conversations in the room with family members and generate orders for labs and monitoring tools—all while allowing doctors to maintain eye contact with their patients. This tool has the power to streamline the experience for both patients and providers and is already being used in some GI practices.

The same can be said for IBD Smart Note, which enables patients to fill out information about their symptoms and experiences. The information can then be used for research or distributed to the entire care team.

Obesity and IBD: Food for Thought

Rates of obesity in IBD are becoming more prevalent among pediatric and adult patients. Most estimates suggest obesity rates of 15–40% in our patient population. It’s important to remember that obesity does not necessarily rule out the possibility of mineral or vitamin deficiencies.

When diet and lifestyle are not enough, GLP-1s can be considered for IBD patients. We know GLP-1s are effective in weight loss, and we patients with IBD respond similarly to the general population when it comes to possible side effects: nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Gastroenterologists should counsel patients on what to expect and what dietary modifications are needed (smaller, more frequent meals, eating slowly, stopping when full, staying upright after meals, avoiding high-fat/spicy food, and only eating when hungry).

There was discussion about whether GLP-1s can possibly reduce the inflammatory burden of IBD. This is worth more exploration. As of now, there are not any strong signals that these drugs make IBD worse; if anything, GLP-1s may improve the patient experience.

Bariatric surgery is safe in IBD. When a patient is obese, J-pouch surgery can be more challenging anatomically. Obesity is the number one reason patients have pouch failure, but the exact reasons for this are unknown. If a person’s body mass index is between 30 and 35, there can be issues with a J-pouch and a handsewn S-pouch is sometimes created instead.

The larger someone’s belly, the higher the risk for developing a hernia. Surprisingly, 52% of obese patients require a hernia repair after surgery. When determining stoma placement in obese IBD patients, avoid creases and folds in skin. Prior to surgery, a patient should sit, stand, and lie in a variety of positions so planning for the stoma can be perfected.

As of December 2024, the surgical guidelines for GLP-1s have been updated. GLP-1s may be continued preoperatively in patients without elevated risk of delayed gastric emptying (DGE) and aspiration. A preoperative liquid diet for 24 hours can be utilized in patients with concern for DGE.

Final Thoughts

Crohn’s & Colitis Congress was a fantastic experience and I’m grateful I was able to be in attendance and hear the latest developments firsthand alongside fellow patient reporter Kaylaa’ White. Stay tuned for details regarding IBD Insider, a free webinar hosted by the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, open to the public on Thursday, March 6, 7 p.m. ET. We hope to see you there!

Learn more and register for IBD Insider.

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