Pregnancy After Gastric Bypass
America is suffering from an epidemic of obesity. Never before has America had such a proportion of its citizens who are overweight. Thankfully, many of them are doing something about their obesity, which causes all kinds of health problems, and can lead to premature death. Some are dieting and exercising, while others are turning to surgery to solve their problem. Many of the people who opt for surgery are women, and now many of those women have questions about pregnancy after gastric bypass surgery. Here are the facts.
Several years ago, when this sort of procedure was still pretty rare, most doctors recommended against pregnancy after gastric bypass surgery. Part of the reasoning was just being cautious, as there weren’t many cases to base any kind of reliable conclusion on. Additionally, it was thought that women who had had gastric bypass would have trouble taking in enough nutrients for both themselves and their baby, since the amounts of food they can eat are so small. They were also concerned about complications, such as possible bleeding, that might occur in these women if they got pregnant.
But now that thousands of women have undergone the procedure, the consensus on pregnancy after gastric bypass has changed. Doctors today say it’s perfectly safe for a women who’s had this surgery to have a baby as long as they wait until the surgery has done its job, and they’ve lost the excess weight. Before the weight has stabilized, it’s not a good idea, but after that, it’s fine. They also recommend that women consider taking some nutritional supplements, such as folic acid, to make sure the fetus gets all the vitamins and nutrients it needs. Of course, every woman who’s had the surgery should always check with her personal physician before deciding to have a baby, but in general, most women shouldn’t have a problem.
