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I've got a fierce competition going on in my belly. My Crohn's Disease, as usual, is demanding lots of space and attention but now I also have a little baby there who is pushing and kicking and is definitely letting me know he's there. This is my second pregnancy but my first time with active Crohn's Disease. With my first, I was so adamant about following all the expert advice and keeping my body as "pure" as possible so that the baby could grow in a non-toxic environment. Well, if my son really benefited from growing this chemical-free environment then this new baby is certainly getting the short end of the stick. I am now taking Imuran and some prednisone to keep the inflammation down. Both these drugs are deemed safe during pregnancy by my doctors. When I went to pick up my first prescription of Imuran, I caught the pharmacist staring at my pregnant belly, looking concerned. As she explained how to take the medication, she told me that no one else should touch the pills as they can be very toxic. When I came home from the pharmacy, I broke down crying.
In her book, Listen to Your Gut, Jini Patel argues that one should control their Crohn's Disease using an elemental diet (consisting of her Absorb Plus Powder) and even during pregancy she thinks that it is better deprive the baby of some nutrients than to expose the baby to prednisone. I'll admit that I too was thinking in the early stages of my pregnancy that it would be better for the baby to be in a chemical-free environment, even if it meant that my Crohn's might act up. But when I went to see my doctor after having a blood test, he told me that I was not absorbing enough protein and this is not healthy for a pregnancy. At this point, I just made the decision that I would give myself over to the professionals and do whatever they said.
