Pregnancy post-op: WAY TOO EARLY

Just an FYI: I am not pregnant... and don't plan on it anytime soon.

but I do often read women's posts about "when is it too soon"... etc. etc.  and it makes me think...

My question is: Do any of you know exactly what would happen to baby or mother if there is a pregnancy before the 1 year post-op anniversary? 6 months post-op? Would that be endangering mother and baby?

Just curious...

I was 8 months out from lap band surgery when I found out I was pregnant (it was an OPPS!).  So far I am 31 weeks with a HEALTHY baby boy.  I am currently over a week further along than I was with my first pregnancy (pre surgery).  I did not have gestational diabeties this pregnancy and I did with my first.  My blood pressure is a little on the high side but not out of control and my vitamin level is great! So far I have had a really great and uneventful pregnancy, unlike my first which was pre op.  I really think having this surgery made this pregnany a lot healthier.  I just hope once little man gets here I can start lossing weight again. 

I think it really depends on the mother's health. I know plenty of early out post-ops who have uneventful, healthy pregnancies. My main concern was being able to support my body nutritionally while trying to support another developing little human. I could not have eaten enough early out to support both of us. Plus, I was pretty hellbent on being at goal, and into maintenance before conceiving. I wanted to decrease as many risks of having a pregnancy with a complicated medical history. I'm older (34 nearly 35  and have some pre-VSG issues that make me high risk. Nothing about VSG has complicated my pregnancy at all. I was 19 months when I got pregnant, and now 11 days away from delivery.

I just wasn't willing to get pregnant during my losing stage even though a lot of women do it without issue, it was not something I was willing to risk, or compromise my weight loss goals.

I think a lot depends on the surgery type.  If you've had lapband or sleeve and absorb all that you eat, the risks are going to be less than for a patient that had bypass or DS and still has to worry about absorbtion issues. 

It's dangerous because when you're early out, you're eating to LOSE weight, which means you're eating less than required to even maintain your own body weight. Add to that your body's responsibility to then support a second, growing life, and you're in a pretty risky situation. This DOES also apply to VSG and band patients because the amount you can eat may still be restricted to such an exent that you can't get sufficient nutrition (although I'm sure some band patients could have their bands emptied and be okay - I'm not going to pretend to be any kind of band expert).

I beloieve the general rule of thumb of waiting 18-24 months after surgery is so that patients are no longer in the rapid weight loss phase, and most are able to consume more calories and a larger variety of foods than they coud early out.

Of course, accidents happen, and most mommies and babies end up okay, but they need closer monitoring and can no longer focus on weight loss as a priority (but they may still continue to lose some weight). I would imagine this would step on the toes of the weight loss "window" when most people lose the majority of their weight, so I would also guess these women may stand a higher chance of not losing as much weight post-op in general, but I'm just basing that on my own common sense and not on studies or anything, so dont' hold me to it  :P