Are you considering bariatric surgery for fertility purposes? Infertility affects many women. Having excess weight can make conceiving even more difficult. It’s true that achieving a healthier weight can improve fertility. However, sometimes diet and exercise alone aren’t enough. In this case, bariatric surgery may be an option.
Bariatric Surgery for Fertility
Bariatric surgery helps the body lose weight quickly which can address the problems that are causing infertility. Often, this allows patients who have struggled to get pregnant to conceive and have a healthy pregnancy. If you think bariatric surgery can address your infertility, it’s important to fully understand the option you are pursuing. Here’s what you should know.
Improving Fertility and Pregnancy 
Excess weight can trigger hormone imbalances. These imbalances can affect a person’s ovulation cycles and make it more difficult to get pregnant. Excess weight also increases the chances of conditions that affect fertility like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Bariatric surgery weight loss can promote more predictable ovulation cycles, reduce insulin resistance, and help patients conceive. Furthermore, once a person has conceived, being at a healthier weight improves outcomes during the pregnancy and delivery. For example, it can lower the risk of problems like gestational diabetes, preterm birth, macrosomia, and stillbirth.
Pros and Cons of Bariatric Surgery for Fertility
While its normal to want to do whatever you can to increase your chances of growing your family, it’s important to remember that bariatric surgery is a major procedure. All surgery comes with risks. It’s important to speak to your provider about the risks of the procedure. After discussing with your provider, you can decide if bariatric surgery is the right option for you.
Timing Matters
While bariatric surgery does produce quick weight loss, we recommend that patients wait 18-24 months before trying to conceive. This gives your body time to lose as much weight as possible before conceiving. Furthermore, it allows the body’s vitamin levels to stabilize. This reduces the risk of fetal malnutrition and complications like low birth weight or pre-term birth.
Since delaying conception is important after bariatric surgery, patients typically use a form of birth control. However, oral contraceptives are less effective after procedures like gastric bypass, so patients should choose a non-oral birth control method.
Bariatric Surgery for Fertility
If you are ready to discuss your options for bariatric surgery and how it could improve your fertility, please contact Maryland Bariatrics today.
