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As women who are still of fertile age lose weight they may find that they become more fertile. Many women who have had issues with infertility may find as they lose weight they regain fertility, while women who thought they were in menopause may begin menstruating again. Why does this happen? Estrogen tends to store in fat cells of the body. The more fat cells you have the more gets stored, meaning the less gets to your blood stream. Therefore, as you lose weight the stored estrogen may get released from storage and enter in your bloodstream which can effect your cycles.
For women who wish to conceive but struggle with weight or infertility may have surgery for the main reason of having a higher chance of getting pregnant and having a healthy pregnancy. For those women who do not desire to conceive after weight loss surgery birth control should be a consideration.
Oral contraceptive efficacy may be decreased in patients who have undergone bariatric surgery that causes malabsorption, such as the Roux-en-Y bypass. Oral contraceptives are therefore generally avoided in these patients. However, the evidence on contraceptive effectiveness following bariatric surgery, especially using current surgical methods, is extremely limited. Currently methods such as the patch, IUD's, implanon and the nuva ring are preferred. The lap band and gastric sleeve have no effect on oral pill effectiveness so these are still good options.
Under appropriate circumstances, pregnancy can be safe after weight management procedures (WMP). However, due to the severe risk of birth defects and associated medical problems, including, but not limited to, neural tube defects, malnutrition, low birth weight, prolonged neonatal ICU stay, and even autism, it is absolutely imperative that you avoid pregnancy for the first 18 months (1.5 years) after weight loss surgery. Additionally, we absolutely mandate that you not get pregnant during periods of acute weight loss.
In other words, do not get pregnant until your weight has been stable for at least a full year! This is for the safety and health of you and your baby.
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