Pregnancy pre op vs post op?
I am 22 years old and I am considering gastric bypass surgery. When I've mentioned this idea to family members they have expressed concern about me having children in the future ( I don't have any right now). Everything I've read online so far has said that there are not many dangers to having a baby after the surgery if you wait at least 18 months afterwards. My aunt who has had gastric bypass surgery told me that if I had a baby, it wouldn't get the nutrients it needs and it would be "sickly." Is this a common misconception? I know that taking the proper vitamins and maintaining a healthy lifestyle post op is also necessary to have a successful pregnancy.
I know every ones experience is different, but I was curious to see if people who have had children prior to the surgery and afterwards experienced more complications being obese and pregnant then they did being pregnant post op?
I was 26 when I started really looking into having WLS. I had had one child, but knew I wanted more children in the future.
Successful pregnancy after gastric bypass is completely possible! In fact, I ended up pregnant only 5.5 months post-op from my bypass. Well before the recommended 18 month wait. I was scared that my baby wouldn't get what they needed, was terrified of miscarriage caused by nutritional/vitamin deficiency, etc. Well, I am now 5 days from meeting my baby boy who is very healthy, has been on track with his growth the entire pregnancy, and have had zero complications other than him remaining stubbornly breeched which has nothing to do with my bypass. I am currently 25 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight, even. I lost with my first pregnancy as well, but was borderline with gestational diabetes. So overall, this pregnancy is even healthier than my first. :)
Good luck in making your decision. If I had to do it all again, I would do it again in a heartbeat! Best decision I could have possibly made for myself. :)
i certainly would hope not, as i had the WLS expressly because i wanted to have a complication/risk-free pregnancy. at my original weight of 372, that wasn't likely to be the case. doc recommended that i lose weight to help avoid miscarriage, gestational diabetes, etc. i'm got pregnant 19 months post op and so far i'm only a little over 7 weeks along, but the seahorse has been developing exactly as expected. i hope it keeps doing so, but as of right now, intended baby is fine. i eat like i'm supposed to. watching what i consume and still losing weight (which is expected with my type of surgery). because i eat smaller portions i have to make sure what i'm eating is nutrient dense, but given how i've seen "skinny" regular weight women consume junk food up the wahzoo, i think babies born from mothers who had WLS are likely to be more healthy anyhow. just my opinion, mind you.
I had WLS after my first child was about 18 months old. I had a very easy pregnancy with her, but didn't want her to grow up with a mother that hated her body. I knew this would be far more damaging for her own body image than any other outside factor. I was nervous about vitamin absorption issues for myself, and my plans to have more kids. For these reasons, I decided to have the sleeve surgery instead of RNY. I have great restriction, but absorb all the nutrients I eat. I was pretty close to my goal weight at 6 months and decided to stop using birth control and just "see what happens". About a minute later I was pregnant, lol. My second pregnancy was even easier than my first. Neither my OB nor my surgeon had any sleeve related concerns throughout my pregnancy, and all my vitamin levels were great. The baby was perfectly healthy, and even slightly bigger than my first. He is now one, and a perfect healthy little boy.
Good luck with your decision. Also, for what it is worth, I had a hard time convincing my family that I was making the right decision, and now that I'm a healthy size 2/4 they're constantly asking me for advice now.
I understand the thoughts of being scared as the unknown of surgery, but one thing nearly all could tell you on this board is having a baby after surgery is far more healthier than before. I am currently pregnant with my second since surgery (0 Prior to surgery). My first baby is a 2 1/2 year old ball of fun and my second pregnancy is doing fine. My baby was small but mostly contributed to the fact that I had a tummy tuck not the gastric. I had no problems eating, etc. You certainly should discuss with your dr. however I can't imagine this being a show stopper.
GOOD LUCK!
Stacey
RNY-10/27/04
I had 2 babies prior to RNY and now have a 4mo old post RNY. During my 1st preg i gained back the 76lbs i had purposefully lost along with an additional 25 after pregnancy :( but no complications related to weight. Then with my second preg i started at 313lbs and delivered him with a weight of 335lbs. During this preg i struggled with pregnancy induced hypertension which they related to my weight. When he was 18mo old i decided to have RNY after much deliberation and research. A little over 2yrs out i became preg with my 3rd little bundle of joy. This preg was smooth sailing other than the regular discomforts during pregnancy. I even cont' with my Zumba and other regular physical activities during my pregnancy. My little man was born perfectly healthy and was average weight. Needless to say this surgery didn't cause any complications during my pregnancy it prevented my previous complication. The only thing that will need to be done differently during a pregnancy after WLS is to have your vitamin levels checked during each trimester to ensure that you are getting enough vitamins in. Good luck with your decision.
Tiff
