An Exploration of Sexual and Reproductive Health of Australian Women Living With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Mixed Methods Study
Date
Authors
O’Reilly, Kate
Holroyd, Eleanor
You, Wenpeng
Peters, Kath
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an unpredictable condition that is more prevalent in females (57%) and commonly presents during reproductive years. This study explored the sexual and reproductive health of women who live with IBD in Australia using an online survey and interviews (March–November 2024). Survey responses from 64 women and qualitative data from 14 interviews highlighted menstrual changes, misinformation received regarding fertility, and the impact of IBD on women’s sexuality. Findings from this study highlight the need to ensure discussions about sexuality are more actively incorporated into clinical care for women with IBD.Description
Keywords
3215 Reproductive Medicine, 32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, 42 Health Sciences, Women's Health, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Clinical Research, Autoimmune Disease, Digestive Diseases, Crohn's Disease, Contraception/Reproduction, 7.1 Individual care needs, Reproductive health and childbirth, 3 Good Health and Well Being, Women, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, sexual well-being, sexual and reproductive health
Source
Women's Reproductive Health, ISSN: 2329-3691 (Print); 2329-3713 (Online), Taylor and Francis Group, ahead-of-print, 1-15. doi: 10.1080/23293691.2026.2623107
Publisher's version
Rights statement
© 2026 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.