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How Weight Loss Surgery Can Affect Your Fertility & Chances of Conceiving By Katie Conrad, BSN, RN
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IMAGES: DREAMSTIME
onsidering weight loss surgery before conceiving a child? Because being overweight or obese is so prevalent among American women, lots of women have this question. Being overweight or obese reduces your fertility as it affects your body’s metabolism and menstrual cycles, particularly if you have been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). This condition causes infertility by increasing insulin resistance in your body, which impairs your ability to mature an egg for fertilization (ovulation). If you’re overweight and have irregular periods, ask your healthcare provider if you’re at risk for PCOS. Losing weight, through diet or surgery, can help restore normal menstrual cycles and reduce PCOS.
Weight Loss Surgery Effects Weight loss surgery affects how your body absorbs nutrients, your fertility and your risks for pregnancy and birth
complications. Experts agree that getting pregnant at a normal weight is healthy best. Since no two women or pregnancies are alike, talk with your healthcare provider about whether you would benefit from weight loss surgery and recovery time before trying to conceive. Two common weight loss surgeries are Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. With bypass surgery, food bypasses major sections of your stomach and intestines so you feel full sooner, eat less, and absorb fewer calories. Gastric banding involves a band placed around the upper portion of your stomach thereby creating a faster sense of fullness and reduced capacity for eating.
“When is it Safe to Get Pregnant After Surgery?” Most experts recommend that you avoid conceiving for at least 1 year after weight loss surgery so that your body and weight can stabilize. During any sudden, rapid weight loss, your body may struggle with absorbing nutrients.
Most women continue to lose weight for up to a year after surgery, including bariatric, gastric bypass surgery or gastric banding surgery. Waiting at least a year post-surgery decreases some of the risks that can emerge in pregnancy immediately following weight loss surgery, such as a birthing baby too small for its age or even fetal death.
Prepare for Pregnancy If you’ve had weight loss surgery, ask your healthcare provider if you need additional vitamins or supplements. Weight loss surgeries, particularly gastric bypass, stops food from traveling through the area where much of the nutrition you eat gets absorbed— you get fewer calories but also fewer nutrients. You may have deficiencies in vitamins and minerals essential for a healthy pregnancy, particularly vitamins A, K and B12, as well as iron, calcium and folic acid. KATIE CONRAD, BSN, RN, is a clinical nurse at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, OH.
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