Pregnancy After RNY

Hi WL Family,

I am almost 5 months post op and life is great, especially since i am 79lbs lighter. My Husband and I are having a ball together and our relationship seem as though we just meet. Neither one of us have kids. As of lately we are real anxious to have our first lil bundle of joy. During the initial bariatric consultations, it was advise to wait a year (why?) Then, I didn't even care about that subject so i didn't bother to ask detail questions. Then my GYN (who by the way knew I had the surgery), suggested some birth control+ condoms. And up till now that is what we have been doing.

What are the drawbacks or consequences for having a baby without waiting a year. Or a better question might be why is it recommended to wait. This is crazy because before now we were alright without a baby and now that is all we can talk about.

Thanks for everyone positive response I greatly appreciate it.

Waiting a year to 18 months is recommended. Your weight loss so far is great and I am sure that you want to continue to loose! Waiting another 6 months or so isn't the end of the world and it will go so quickly. You are best to get yourself in the best shape possible first then talk pregnancy. Having a baby is hard on your body so why not get it into the best shape possible for this struggle?

During the rapid weight loss period post-op your body is in ketosis (when the body is using the fat as fuel instead of the food you are taking in) this is very dangerous for fetal development (brain and nervous system). Also your lab work is probably all over the place, it is best for that to be stable because a baby leeches all the good stuff from you. Also you really aren't eating enough to support your body (hence the ketosis) let alone a growing baby. The baby almost always gets what it needs but you will suffer.

You GYN was wise to recommend the hormonal BC method as well as condoms (barrier method) because our bodies may also not absorb the pill correctly.

Enjoy your "fun" with your hubby and plan plan plan now! get your body into the best shape possible then when your weight and labs stabilize make that baby!!!

I would say that you won't lose as much weight if you get preggo early.  Many people will probably jump all over this, but I was pretty regular on this board for 4 years and all the women *I* saw who got preggo early out never lost the full amount of weight and are now struggling with losing more.  You DO absorb all the pill--it disolves in less than ten minutes, and there are lots of studies on this.  The issue is that you have such a release of estrogen from the burning of fat, it can mess with your hormone flux. I never got preggo when on the pill, but some women in their active loss phase have.  Probably a good idea to use condoms as well.  Good news is a lot of women seem to get pregnant after having issues pre-surgery with fertility.  I am now pregnant with baby number three AFTER my RNY, so it is entirely possible to have healthy babies...I had surgery in 2002 and had my first in 2006. Good luck and congrats on a wonderful loss thus far!!!

I agree with the previous posters...lose all the weight you can and then ENJOY your new body 18 months post op I think is great. I was 2 years made it below my goal and really enjoyed my new body and the freedom it brought and hubby and I had fun preparing...I'm now a little over 4 months pregnant with a pregnancy without help of medical intervention after having fertility issues pre-op and PCOS.