Can You Take Semaglutide While Pregnant?
No, doctors warn against using semaglutide during pregnancy, and women who desire to become pregnant should stop taking semaglutide and wait until most of the medication has cleared out of their system before trying to conceive. If you become pregnant while using the medication, it is very important to contact your doctor right away for guidance.
According to the semaglutide product label and information distributed by the FDA, semaglutide should be discontinued at least two months before attempting to get pregnant. The National Health Service in the United Kingdom and other public health organizations also advise that GLP-1 medications should not be used when pregnant or while nursing, and women who are trying to conceive should stop using them immediately.
Why Semaglutide and Pregnancy Are Not a Good Idea
There has not been any deliberate research on how semaglutide impacts a growing baby or how it affects each stage or the safety of a pregnancy, so there is very little data available. Doctors and researchers agree that semaglutide should be immediately stopped if you become pregnant while using it.
There are many reasons why it is not a good idea to use semaglutide while you are pregnant, but the top two reasons include:
- Studies that have been performed on animals show possible harm during embryo development and fetal growth.
- Very few pregnancies have been reported while using semaglutide, so researchers do not have data related to pregnancies in humans and do not fully understand its effects on either the mother or her developing baby.
Getting Pregnant on Semaglutide
Semaglutide stays in your system for several weeks after you discontinue using it, so if you happen to get pregnant while on semaglutide, you may be added to a special exposure registry, which was created to capture any data possible to help researchers understand how the medication affects pregnancy. Your doctor will advise you to stop taking the medication immediately, and your progress will be recorded anonymously to help doctors guide future expectant mothers who conceive while using semaglutide.
What Happens If You Get Pregnant While on Semaglutide?
Taking semaglutide while pregnant can harm both the baby’s development and the mother’s health, and it can make it more difficult to maintain a healthy pregnancy. One of the main effects of semaglutide is that it suppresses your appetite, which is great when you are trying to lose weight, but it is not ideal during pregnancy. Pregnant women need a steady intake of nutritious foods to help the baby grow and develop properly. If semaglutide reduces your hunger, it can make it much harder to eat enough to get the calories and nutrients needed to maintain a healthy pregnancy.
GLP-1 medications like semaglutide cause common side effects that include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration. These symptoms can be exacerbated if morning sickness is an issue and can prevent your body from getting what it needs to support a healthy pregnancy, and increase the risk of experiencing complications.
If your blood sugar was being regulated using semaglutide before you became pregnant, you will need to work with your doctor to find alternate strategies to keep it under control until after you have had your baby and are done nursing.
What Has Research Discovered About Semaglutide Use During Pregnancy?
Semaglutide and other drugs that are classified as GLP-1 receptor agonists, were shown to cause problems in fetal growth and skeletal development at certain doses in animal studies. These findings raised concerns among researchers that these medications could harm a developing baby during pregnancy, or lead to birth defects or abnormal development (known as teratogenic effects). Because of these findings, health regulators now require warning labels about the use of semaglutide during pregnancy.
It is not realistic or ethical to conduct controlled human studies on women who are pregnant to determine how semaglutide will affect their pregnancy because it would deliberately risk the health of both mother and baby and possibly lead to developmental issues of the fetus. This means that we have very little data to work with regarding human pregnancies and the effects of semaglutide past first-trimester exposure. The data we do have has been collected from cases where current semaglutide users experienced an unplanned pregnancy and discontinued use as soon as they became aware they were expecting.
Does Semaglutide Affect Your Fertility?
Semaglutide is not designed to be used as a fertility treatment, but researchers have reported that losing weight can sometimes increase the chances of getting pregnant for people who have infertility that is linked to obesity. Many women have shared their stories on social media platforms, explaining that they became pregnant after losing weight while using semaglutide.
This usually occurs because losing weight causes your hormones to balance out and your ovulation and menstrual cycles to become more regular. This increases your odds of conceiving, and it becomes very important to use contraception that is effective so you do not experience a pregnancy that is poorly timed. Should you decide you wish to conceive, you should discontinue using semaglutide for at least 2 months before you even try, so the medicine has time to fully leave your body.
When Is It Safe to Start Using Semaglutide After Pregnancy?
Doctors recommend that you wait until you are no longer breastfeeding before you begin using semaglutide to help you lose your postpartum baby weight. Researchers still do not know enough about how the body processes semaglutide or if it can pass from the breast milk to the baby, and what effects it may have.
Stay in close contact with your doctor and work together to create a plan for when you will begin using semaglutide after pregnancy that will work best for your needs and circumstances.
Review of Semaglutide and Pregnancy
- Inform your doctor as soon as you decide you would like to try to become pregnant, so they can guide you in making sure the semaglutide leaves your system before you conceive. Doctors and other medical professionals recommend that you stop using semaglutide for at least two months before trying to get pregnant to allow enough time for the medicine to clear from your body.
- You should seek professional help finding alternate ways to manage your weight or blood sugar while you plan your pregnancy.
- It is important that you use an effective and reliable form of birth control until it is safe for you to begin trying to become pregnant.
- If you should conceive while taking semaglutide, stop using it immediately and contact your doctor so they can monitor your health and provide ongoing assistance.
Where Can I Learn More About Semaglutide?
If you want to find out more about how semaglutide can help you reach your weight loss goals, talk to the experts at MySlimMed. Dr. Angelina and her team offer personalized medical weight loss programs that are customized to meet your needs and your lifestyle.
Schedule your consultation today and get your questions answered about how to safely use semaglutide to help you lose weight. The knowledgeable team at MySlimMed can help you reach your weight loss goals and improve your health.
