Kim ES, Tarassishin L, Eisele C, et al. - Since the impact of pregnancy on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is poorly known, researchers sought to monitor intestinal inflammation via fecal calprotectin (FC) in pregnant women and their babies during early life. They prospectively enrolled pregnant women with or without IBD and their infants. In each trimester of pregnancy and in babies during the first 3 years of life, FC levels were measured. Six hundred fourteen fecal samples from 358 mothers (98 with IBD) and 1,005 fecal samples from 289 infants (76 born to IBD mothers) were analyzed. Compared to controls, pregnant IBD patients maintained higher FC levels through pregnancy. FC gradually increased in controls and declined in IBD patients throughout pregnancy. After adjusting for sex, delivery mode, feeding behavior, and antibiotics exposure babies born to IBD mothers presented with significantly higher FC levels than those born to controls up to 3 years of age. In mothers with IBD, pregnancy is associated with reduced inflammatory activity. In babies born to IBD mothers, higher FC levels indicate early life subclinical inflammation whose long-term effects are unclear.