The term “Ozempic baby” has become all the rage on social media as more and more women share their stories of falling pregnant after using the popular weight-loss drug.
No scientific studies have yet looked specifically into the “Ozempic baby” phenomenon, but experts say the growing anecdotal evidence is “not surprising.”
Darin El Chaar, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at The Ottawa Hospital, said he has come across at least five similar cases in the past year in his own clinical practice and through his colleagues.
“This is just one of those things we expected,” El-Char said in an interview with Global News.
“People who thought they couldn’t get pregnant or didn’t have periods will definitely experience unexpected pregnancies if they take these medications.”
But what exactly is behind this link, and are there any risks associated with weight loss drugs during pregnancy?
Here’s what we know:
Can weight loss drugs improve fertility?
Many women who are obese or have polycystic ovary syndrome have irregular menstrual cycles and ovulation, making it harder to get pregnant, said Danielle Drucker, a senior research scientist at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute at Sinai Health in Toronto.
That’s why women are encouraged to lose weight to improve their chances of conceiving, Drucker said.
“These drugs obviously help women lose weight, and weight loss itself increases ovulation and therefore the chances of a successful pregnancy,” he said in an interview with Global News.
Naila Ramji, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist in Fredericton, New Brunswick, and assistant professor at Dalhousie University, said it’s “not surprising” that ovulation would return because obese people typically take “very effective” weight-loss drugs.
Additionally, social factors such as how losing weight can help women feel better about their body image and sexual relationships also need to be looked at more closely, El-Char said.
Can weight loss pills make birth control less effective?
Another possible explanation for the fertility boost caused by weight-loss drugs is the way GLP-1 receptor agonists, a class of drugs that includes Ozempic, Wegovy and others, work.
Get the latest health and medical news delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
Ramji said GLP-1 slows gastric emptying, which may affect the absorption of other drugs that pass through the digestive tract, such as contraceptives.
Ozempic is an injection, so it doesn’t pass through the digestive tract, but it can slow down its functioning, Ramji explained.
Warning Label The weight loss and diabetes drug tirzepatide (sold under the brand name Munjaro) warns that the effectiveness of oral contraceptives may be reduced while taking the drug.
“If you take oral contraceptives, your health care provider may recommend another type of birth control for 4 weeks after you start taking Munjaro and for 4 weeks each time you increase your dose of Munjaro,” the May 2022 drug package insert states.
Ramji said that given the potential effects of these drugs on oral contraceptives, it’s important to consider combining them with other birth control methods that don’t pass through the digestive tract, such as IUDs, Depo-Provera injections, birth control patches, estrogen rings or an implant called Nexplanon.
What are the risks of weight loss pills during pregnancy?
Experts recommend that pregnant people not take weight-loss drugs because there is limited research on how they affect pregnancy, and to date there have been no regulated human trials to explore the risks.
Both Ramzi and Drucker said it’s recommended to stop taking these medications at least two months before actively trying to conceive.
While some animal studies suggest weight-loss drugs may cause birth defects and increase the risk of miscarriage and growth retardation, there is a lack of safety data for humans, Ramji said.
“Generally, I would not recommend weight loss medication for women who are trying to become pregnant, nor would I recommend actively trying to lose weight while pregnant,” she said.
“This drug has the potential to cause pregnancy complications and the reason we recommend stopping it two months in advance is because we don’t know how long the drug stays in your body.”
The Ozempic website states: It is not known if the drug will harm a fetus or pass into breast milk.
Another concern during pregnancy is the loss of appetite caused by weight-loss drugs, which can have adverse effects on the fetus, Drucker said.
“Pregnancy is a time when you want to make sure your baby is well nourished, so you don’t want a woman to be in a situation where not only is she experiencing nausea and vomiting due to pregnancy, but she also has a loss of appetite because she’s taking weight-loss medication,” she said.
Global News contacted Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Ozempic and Wegovi, about reports of unexpected pregnancies in patients using these weight-loss drugs.
In a statement, the company said that “pregnancy or intent to become pregnant was an exclusion criterion” in clinical trials of semaglutide for both obesity and type 2 diabetes, and as a result, “clinical trial data on the use of semaglutide in pregnant women is limited.”
—With files from Global News’ Shawn Preville
