Kids and Crohn's/Colitis

[gizzard]

I hope this post doesn't offend anyone. I think it might, and that may be why I've not seen this discussed since I've been part of this community (a few years), but is something I'm really curious to find out other people's perspectives, especially those who've gone through it

Comments

[hauntednights]

This is not that unusual. It is one of the major reasons that I don't want to have children. But then, I am a firm believer that our medical tech has allowed us to terribly pollute our gene pool with these genetic diseases. :-) So I am a little vocal about it.

[hbpen]

I think it's very normal for someone to think about these things.

I've heard or seen NO research that indicates only women pass on the Crohn's gene.

I had a child 10 yrs before I was diagnosed. I don't worry about it at all. If he started having symptoms, that'd be another story...

[dreamwell_ali]

I feel exactly the same way. My husband wants kids and I've never really wanted them, but the biological clock says to do it...but the Crohn's? How can I put someone else through that? I was also diagnosed at 12 (am 35 now) and know how horrible it is to live with this disease. How can I willingly bring a child into this world knowing that they could be sick like me?

A strong argument for adoption, I suppose.

[duchess_k]

I have Crohn's but nobody in either my or my husband's families has it. There may well be a genetic link but there are plenty of other theories as to how it comes to be. I don't think of myself as a defective human that needs to be removed from the gene pool. I have much to pass on, not just a possibility of an autoimmune disorder. I have two children. I hope that they don't get sick but it is low on my list of worries. If I were one in a long string of sufferers I would have thought twice, but neither my GI nor my OB nor midwives were concerned that there was a strong chance that I was some kind of loaded genetic gun.

[duchess_k]

Also as a more generalized philosophy: not being a known carrier does not guarantee a healthy offspring either. There are hidden genes, there are random mutations, there are diseases of contagion. Having kids is a crapshoot. I think that if it is known that there is a strong chance, or even a reasonable chance, that your offspring would be debilitatingly ill, then it is irresponsible to inflict that. But to eschew having children that you really want to have because of a remote chance that can't be quantified or predicted? I feel like that is something to weigh in your decision to have children but isn't an ethical dealbreaker.

Oh and somebody says it makes a good case for adoption--in what way would one know an adopted child wouldn't have genetic issues or other unavoidable syndromes or diseases? Yes, you'd be withholding your own contributions to the gene pool, but you could still wind up with a sick child. It is a complicated subject, to be sure.

[gizzard]

It us, yeah. And after reading some of the replies to this it became very clear that how people feel about having children is very much related to their own personal experience with crohn's - and whether or not we consider ourselves defective. If so, how defective is too defective? Crohn's is a walk in the park to lots of other conditions, and of course crohn's can manifest itself in anything from a slightly annoying condition to manage to constantly life threatening. What I need is a crystal ball... ;)

[duchess_k]

I'm fortunate to be enjoying the "slightly annoying" grade of the disease, though I have been through spells of "serious pain in the ass", but never life-threatening. I'm sure it makes a big difference. My quality of life has been high, with maybe a couple years of reasonably significant suffering.

I wish I had a crystal ball too! But since I can't, I tend not to dwell on the "oh but what if?"s of life. Yeah, maybe my kids have a stronger chance of having Crohn's than somebody else, but any number of unhappy fates could await any of us. My children are sturdy and healthy and happy to be here, and have given me so much more to live for. To me, that's what it is all about. :)

[twirlie]

I don't know if it puts your mind at rest at all.. but a leaflet I picked up in the hospital last year gave the statistics of passing on crohns to an offspring as just 10%. I'm not sure about the hows or why's, but I remember the figure because I was shocked it was so low. Like you, I assumed it was 50/50. As you're worried, perhaps its something you could ask the Crohns & Colitis charity here in the UK.. From the dealings I've had with them I'm sure they'd know the statistics

[twirlie]

Even with two crohns suffering parents its 'only' 50% is it not? My memory fails me and the figures but I remember being suprised even with that scenario. :P