United States: Some women who have taken the GLP-1 drugs class of drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, are said to have conceived in the process when they weren’t planning or ready to.
What is ” Ozempic babies”?
The term ” Ozempic babies” came out on TikTok period, where a few women posted about an unanticipated conception of the pill that they were taking.
As president of the Obesity Medicine Association and chief medical officer of Knownwell, Dr. Angela Fitch’s statement affirms that the established link between weight loss and fertility is “well-known.”
“It’s likely the main driver in the ‘Ozempic baby’ boom we’re suddenly seeing,” she added, as per Fox News reports.
“It’s likely the main driver in the ‘Ozempic baby’ boom we’re suddenly seeing,” Massachusetts-based Fitch wrote in an email to Fox News Digital.
Moreover, additionally, the doctor suggested, “As physicians, it’s our responsibility to emphasize the unknown and ensure that women take contraception use seriously — preferably using long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods, such as an IUD.”
Although the fertility effects of these drugs have not been studied thoroughly, Fitch said they are known to “slow gastric emptying and affect the absorption of oral medications,” including contraceptives.
Moreover, Dr. Rachel McConnell, a fertility expert at Columbia University Fertility Center in New York, stated that she has heard about Ozempic pregnancies “all the time.”
Weightloss drugs linked to fertility – Experts
She added, “I feel that patients who have obesity, or are overweight, will do much better by trying to lose weight,” and, “And there are plenty of studies to support that.”
According to McConnell, losing weight helps in the regulation of a woman’s menstrual cycle, which positively affects patients suffering from obesity or other conditions such as PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) to get pregnant “much quicker.”
As McConnell agreed with Fitch, GLP-1s could be working as an agent to decrease the absorption level of birth control medications.
She said, “Not only does Ozempic work by increasing insulin, causing a decrease in glucose levels, but it also causes a slowing of emptying of the stomach,” as Fox News reported.
Effect of the drugs on babies
According to Fitch, while the effect of GLP-1s on babies is not much known, the chances that there are negligible negative side effects might be “life-changing for pregnancy-related conditions like gestational diabetes,” as Fox News reported.
McConnell said, “Not knowing the safety of the drug, I think [patients] should be cautious and try not to get pregnant while taking it because we don’t know the long-term effects.”
However, both doctors have urged the use of “backup barriers,” or other contraceptives while consuming GLP-1 drugs.