Weight loss surgeries (bariatric surgeries), are surgical procedures that involve making changes to the digestive system in order to rid the patients of their excessive weight when diet and exercise have not worked or when the patients are suffering from health problems due to their excess weight or obesity. When women undergo weight loss surgery, one of their main concerns is about the possibility to get pregnant after weight loss surgery and the effect of their new condition and life style on pregnancy after weight loss surgery, so they wonder whether to undergo weight loss surgery before or after pregnancy among many other questions.

If you intend to have bariatric surgery or have already undergone it and have such questions and concerns, this article is for you to answer all your questions about pregnancy after bariatric surgery.

• Women with excess weight have more risks getting pregnant and having babies than women who undergone weight loss surgery before pregnancy.
• Once your weight stabilizes, it will be much safer to get pregnant after weight loss surgery.
• Weight loss surgery can boost the fertility in women with obesity-related fertility problems.
• Pregnancy right after weight loss surgery or during the period of rapid weight loss is very risky for your safety and the safety of your child.

Healthy Pregnancies after Weight Loss Surgery

Despite the fact that bariatric surgical procedures can pose serious risks and side effects, it is generally known that pregnancy is completely safe after these surgeries when your weight stabilizes.

The first couple of months after weight loss surgery, the body goes through significant nutritional disruption due to the stressful changes, which may cause problems for a growing baby. In general, it is safe to become pregnant after having a gastric sleeve as an example of weight loss surgery. However, one of the major concerns is pregnancy during the period of rapid weight loss.

In fact, weight loss surgeries can be beneficial for the woman and the child, as the bigger the body mass the more the complications are likely to occur such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, and having babies with larger birth weights. This means that weight loss surgeries can reduce these risks and help women have a safer pregnancy after weight loss surgery.

What are the opinions about pregnancy after weight loss surgery?

In most cases, pregnancy after weight loss surgery such as gastric bypass or gastric sleeve can be safe and healthy if managed well by the mother and her doctor. In addition, according to a research, undergoing weight loss surgery prior to becoming pregnant may be beneficial as it lowers the risk to obesity-related problems to the woman and their babies during pregnancy, including:

• Developing gestational diabetes
• Cesarean delivery.
• Blood loss after child birth
• Blood pressure disorders

Benefits of pregnancy after weight loss surgery

On the other hand, undergoing bariatric surgery before pregnancy may increase the risk of some harmful effects, including:

• Poor fetal growth
• Premature birth

Nutritional deficiencies resulting from weight loss surgery play important role in developing these negative effects, according to experts.

The first thing to do to ensure the safety of your baby is to wait for at least 12 to 18 months before getting pregnant after having the weight loss surgery. Once your weight has stabilized, it will be much safer for you to get pregnant.

In addition, most doctors will require nutritional deficiency testing before conception to determine the mother’s individual need for supplements, since many women suffer from nutritional deficiencies that can develop many complications during pregnancy even past the initial post-surgery period.

According to a research, Deficiencies in Iron, B12, calcium, and vitamin D are the most common nutrition complications related to weigh loss surgery. In some cases, patients can experience fat malabsorption and protein-calorie malnutrition after having the surgical procedure.

Furthermore, after bariatric surgery, most women reduce their daily intake to 500 calories per day. They also compensate for the ways in which their bodies no longer metabolize nutrients by taking extra vitamins. Nutrients-deficiency is common during this type of pregnancy due to nausea, as it is known as a post-surgery complication that morning sickness can exacerbate. In addition to the previous tests, your doctor might recommend fetal ultrasound to monitor your baby’s growth and ensure that he is healthy.

When is it safe to get pregnant after a weight loss surgery?

Your eating habits will most likely change after weight loss surgery. Moreover, you may be used to taking vitamin and mineral supplements every day now, which means there is no need to eat any extra food to ensure that your fetus is getting enough food to support its development, since the fetus will take what it needs for growth from you. However, this rule applies only to the first 6 months of pregnancy, as in the last three months you may need to add 200 extra calories to your daily intake.

After undergoing any type of weight loss surgery, women who are planning to get pregnant are advised to take mineral supplements, pregnancy-specific vitamin, vitamin D, Calcium, and possibly iron supplements. Furthermore, at the beginning of the pregnancy, women are also advised to check their levels of iron (ferritin), Vitamin B12, calcium, folate and fat-soluble vitamins. In some cases, additional tests are required, such as blood tests to check their level of nutrients in each month of pregnancy.

During pregnancy after weight loss surgery

Weight loss surgeries may make women more fertile, as these surgeries have a sudden positive impact on fertility. According to experts, women who were suffering from fertility problems due to their obesity and have had the surgery started ovulating regularly for the first time in years. Furthermore, women suffering from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), should also get a fertility boost after surgery, according to recent studies.

According to some statistics, women who have undergone weight loss surgery reported common complications, such as premature birth, in addition to their babies being small for gestational age or having congenital anomalies and be admitted to intensive care. However, being under close medical supervision during pregnancy after weight loss surgery might decrease the possibility of these complications.

This is unlikely, although during pregnancy it is likely that mothers may gain some weight, as during pregnancy, their bodies produces more blood, and their breasts gets bigger, in addition to an increase in their muscles and bone mass.

In most cases, pregnancy after weight loss surgery is not an issue. However, the main concern is getting pregnant during the rapid weight loss period.

It’s advised for all pregnant women to take folic acid daily until they reach 12 weeks of pregnancy.

The first thing to do to ensure the safety of your baby is to wait for your weight to stabilize before considering getting pregnant, by waiting for at least 12 – 18 months after the surgery.