Could taking Ozempic help get you pregnant?
The answer is yes in keeping with scores of girls, a lot of whom were previously battling fertility woes, who claim to have conceived unexpectedly while using the game-changing weight-loss jabs.
Dubbed ‘Oopzempic babies’, the phenomenon has even led some US physicians to prescribe the jabs off-label to treat polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), one in all the leading causes of infertility in women.
Jab users have taken to online forums with lots of of members sharing how they got pregnant due to the injections.
Experts, nevertheless, have warned that conceiving while using the drugs may even ‘be harmful’ for the developing baby.
Deb Oliviara, from Michigan , began her course of Ozempic last November to shift extra weight that had been making her feel down. The 32-year-old was taking a contraception pill, though not consistently, but was not anxious because had a history of fertility issues. Two months later — the identical week she reached her goal weight — Ms Oliviara came upon she was three weeks pregnant
Specialists suggest slimming down may boost fertility, which is why semaglutiude is being linked to pregnancies. Marcela Romero of Florida told Good Morning America that she got pregnant two weeks after starting Mounjaro, despite combating infertility for 3 years
Ozempic and Wegovy, each brand names for the drug semaglutide, have been hailed by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk, and are proven to assist people lose as much as 2st.
Specialists suggest slimming down may boost fertility, which is why semaglutiude is being linked to pregnancies.
Professor Adam Balen, a reproductive medicine consultant at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and former chair of the British Fertility Society, told MailOnline: ‘Many women who’re obese have reduced fertility.
‘Losing weight improves fertility and the likelihood of ovulation.’
Fat cells produce oestrogen which may have a negative impact on fertility — halting regular menstruation and ovulation. As such, by losing just a number of kilos, levels of the hormone could possibly be lowered.
The risk of infertility has been shown to be three-fold higher in obese women than in non-obese ones, research shows.
The effect could also be particularly marked for girls with polycystic ovarian syndrome, or PCOS.
The condition causes cysts to develop on the ovaries, resulting in wide ranging hormonal symptoms and weight gain.
Women with PCOS often struggle to conceive naturally.
Ozempic and Wegovy, each brand names for the drug semaglutide, have been hailed by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk , and are proven to assist people lose as much as 2st
A second 2022 study by researchers on the University of Liverpool also found patients who used the drug dropped 18 percent of their body weight after using it for 68 weeks. But, after dropping the weekly injections, users would put back on two-thirds of the burden inside the following 12 months
Professor Barbara McGowan, an authority in endocrinology and diabetes at King’s College London, added: ‘Weight loss by any means can improve fertility and regulate periods in ladies with PCOS.
‘Weight loss improves insulin resistance related to PCOS, and in doing so regulates the menstrual cycle and hence fertility.’
Semaglutide may additionally cause unplanned pregnancies in one other way, by interfering with oral contraceptives.
The drug also works by delaying the stomach from emptying, which could prevent the Pill from being absorbed effectively by the body.
The jabs, which operate by mimicking GLP-1, a naturally occurring hormone that tells the brain it’s full, may leave users suffering vomiting and diarrhoea, which also risks causing oral contraceptives to fail.
Despite being hailed as one of the crucial powerful pharmaceutical tools to this point, experts have warned it isn’t a ‘magic pill’ or miracle fix all. Trials have shown that users can rapidly pile kilos back on once they stop taking the drug and it will possibly trigger quite a lot of nasty unwanted side effects. Users commonly complain of nausea, constipation and diarrhoea
Deb Oliviara, from Michigan, began her course of Ozempic last November to shift extra weight that had been making her feel down.
The 32-year-old was taking the Pill, though not consistently, but was not anxious because had a history of fertility issues.
Two months later — the identical week she reached her goal weight — she came upon she was three weeks pregnant.
‘We were open to the thought, but definitely not trying,’ she told USA Today. ‘It was very much a surprise.’
Last month, a girl from Florida also revealed she became pregnant just two weeks after she began taking Mounjaro — which uses the energetic ingredient tirzepatide, and works in an identical approach to semaglutide.
Marcela Romero had struggled to conceive for 3 years. But before starting IVF she began using the jab, made by Eli Lilly, to shed pounds and keep her blood sugar down.
She is now a mother to a seven-month-old baby girl.
‘She’s very glad, very smiley on a regular basis,’ Ms Romero told Good Morning America.
And the phenomenon has grow to be so common that forum users are also sharing their experiences of unexpectedly becoming pregnant. A Facebook group titled ‘I got pregnant on Ozempic’ also has over 600 members.
In one Reddit group with over 14million members, one said: ‘Can confirm! I began Ozempic in Sept 2023 in an effort to get my insulin resistance sorted out after 2 years of infertility and recurrent early pregnancy loss, hoping it help.
‘I’m now 16 weeks and 5 days pregnant.’
In a separate thread titled ‘Please share success stories having an ozempic baby?’, a user wrote: ‘I got pregnant 4 weeks into taking Ozempic, came upon at six weeks, stopped Ozempic immediately.
‘Now I actually have my beautiful 4 month old baby!!!’.
In a separate Ozempic thread with 74,000 members, one other said: ‘I just came upon that I’m expecting and I’m 23 weeks. I’ve taken Ozempic the whole time.
‘I had no symptoms besides nausea back in May which I believed was from Ozempic.
‘I’ve have had quite a lot of life stressors (husbands prostate cancer), infertility for YEARS, irregular periods combined with rapid weight reduction.’
Melanie Cree, director of the polycystic ovary syndrome clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado within the US, also said: ‘The “oops” babies on Ozempic and Wegovy are happening in all places.
‘It’s very exciting, nevertheless it’s a bit scary because we’re moving forward without all the information.’
Experts, nevertheless, urged caution to women who may get pregnant while on GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide.
Professor Balen told MailOnline: ‘Conceiving when not nutritionally stable could also be harmful for the developing baby.’
He suggests women losing large amounts of weight should consider taking dietary supplements, particularly if planning a family, including high dose folate which protects against birth defects equivalent to spina bifida.
‘Pregnancies ought to be planned in a healthy way,’ he added.
Pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk, semaglutide manufacturer, advises women to stop taking the burden loss drugs a minimum of two months before a planned pregnancy.
Research on rats, rabbits and monkeys has shown the burden loss medications could end in miscarriage and birth defects if taken while pregnant.
However, a Swedish study published in Decemberfound there was no increase in birth defects amongst women with type 2 diabetes who used the drugs in very early pregnancy compared with those that took insulin.
The researchers, who assessed the health records of fifty,000 women, said additional confirmation is required.
Studies have also suggested weight reduction boosts sexual function and activity.
According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, obesity is the reason for fertility struggles in six per cent of girls who’ve never been pregnant before.
Wegovy and Ozempic, which each contain semaglutide, work by triggering the body to supply a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 that’s released naturally from the intestines after meals
The NHS estimates there’s a one in five risk of miscarriage under 12 weeks amongst women usually.
But in women with a BMI of over 30, this rises to at least one in 4.
Semaglutide has been shown to assist users lose as much as 33lbs (15.3kg) on average over 68 weeks.
Ministers plan to dole the drug to hundreds of thousands of obese Brits to trim the country’s bulging advantages bill. Children could eventually be given the jabs, too.
Latest NHS data shows 26 per cent of adults in England are obese and an additional 38 per cent are obese but not obese.
Experts have pointed to an absence of exercise, and poor diets high in ultra-processed food, as being key drivers within the UK’s obesity epidemic.
Ozempic is currently only available on the NHS as a treatment for managing blood glucose levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes.
It’s dramatic slimming effects saw doctors and pharmacists dish it out ‘off-label’ for people wanting to shed pounds. However, officials urged against doing so due to supply issues, warning it put diabetics lives in danger.
Wegovy was approved last 12 months, specifically for weight reduction.