Ozempic baby boom: Doctors prescribe weight-loss drugs for fertility off-label – with women in their 40s getting pregnant naturally
There could be an Ozempic boom on the horizon, amid reports that doctors have started prescribing weight-loss drugs to women struggling to conceive.
Ozempic and its sister drug Wegovy are not approved for treating infertility, but a growing number of women are taking to social media to discuss their surprise pregnancies with the drug.
Doctors do not yet have conclusive evidence that it is a viable treatment for infertility and they are doing so without evidence that the successful anti-obesity drugs will not harm the fetus, experts warn.
But anecdotal evidence suggests that women who are in their 40s, ready for menopause or using birth control, become pregnant soon after starting the medications.
The medications are believed to correct hormonal imbalances, and in addition, losing weight is associated with a greater chance of becoming pregnant.
Ozempic and Wegovy, both brand names for the drug semaglutide, have been praised by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk and have been proven to help people lose up to 15 percent of their body weight.
Specialists suggest that losing weight can promote fertility. Therefore, semaglutide has been associated with pregnancies. Marcela Romero from Florida told Good Morning America that she became pregnant two weeks after starting Mounjaro.
Melanie Cree, director of the PCOS clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, told Bloomberg: βThe ‘oops’ babies on Ozempic and Wegovy are everywhere.
“It’s very exciting, but also a bit scary because we’re moving forward without all the data.”
In addition to causing weight loss and shedding of fat, which affects estrogen levels, the type of drug is thought to affect how well the body absorbs oral contraceptives.
Dr. William Dietz, physician and chair of the STOP Obesity Alliance at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, said, βThis could mean that birth control medications are metabolized or ineffective.
“I don’t think we know the impact of these drugs on fetal development.”
Forty-year-old Torria Leggett told it Bloomberg that she thought she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant.
The North Carolina social worker started using Novo’s Ozempic to treat obesity and then switched to Lilly’s Mounjaro, which is approved for diabetes but often prescribed for obesity.
While losing weight, she discovered she was pregnant.
She said: The weight loss, that’s probably what started it. I could not believe it.’
Ms. Romero had struggled with infertility for three years before she became pregnant shortly after taking the drugs
Ms. Romero, a nutrition and travel influencer, told The New York Times that she feared Mounjaro could cause side effects. ‘My first thought was, this is great and all, but do we know if there are any complications with the pregnancy? Are there defects that children are born with?’ she said
And Marcela Romero started taking Mounjaro β made by Eli Lilly β to lose weight and keep her blood sugar levels low before starting her IVF journey, because she wanted to give herself the best possible chance at life.
She had been trying to get pregnant for three years before considering IVF.
Just two weeks after starting the medication, she discovered she was pregnant. She is now the mother of a seven-month-old son.
βShe is very happy and always very cheerful,β Ms. Romero told Good Morning America.
Meanwhile, Amanda Brierley, 42, opened up USA today she started taking semaglutide β the main ingredient in Ozempic β last year to manage her insulin resistance related to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Researchers continue to discover different uses for the drugs. Although not conclusively proven to help PCOS, they do cause higher levels of androgens (male hormones) in the body, which can lead to the growth of excess hair, weight gain, acne, mood swings, ovarian cysts, insulin resistance and irregular periods. menstrual cycles.
Within a month, her menstrual cycle resumed with remarkable regularity after years of irregularities. Then, nine months later, Brierley discovered she was pregnant β a surprise considering doctors had told her she wouldn’t be able to conceive naturally after her previous high-risk pregnancy more than 20 years earlier.
The Ozempic baby tag has been viewed more than 250,000 times on TikTok, with women with infertility and PCOS β a condition in which cysts form on the ovaries and lead to hormone imbalances β discussing their miracle babies.
Reports like these motivate healthcare providers to consider GLP-1 medications as a treatment option for polycystic ovary syndrome, a leading cause of infertility in women in the United States.
One user said: ‘I lost over 100 pounds with diet and exercise and unintentionally became pregnant with twins. This all makes sense!’
Another said: ‘Currently 14 weeks pregnant after 3 months of taking Ozempic! It took us two years to conceive our toddler with a fertility clinic and letrozole.β
Dr. Matthew Macer, a fertility specialist in Los Angeles, said: ‘The truth is that any weight loss if you are obese or overweight. If you can lose five percent of your body weight, there are many studies showing a huge benefit for fertility. Very often, just to get ovulation back to normal.’
Drug manufacturers recommend that women stop taking weight-loss medications at least two months before a planned pregnancy. Doctors typically help women taper off their doses to prevent weight gain, a common problem among people who stop taking the drugs.
However, animal studies into the effects the drugs can have on pregnancy have given doctors pause.
In studies, pregnant rats given Ozempic experienced fetal development problems, such as growth problems and embryonic death. Similarly, rabbits and cynomolgus monkeys also showed early pregnancy losses or structural abnormalities, along with significant maternal weight loss.