Management of Pregnant Women after Bariatric Surgery

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity is growing worldwide, and strategies to overcome this epidemic need to be developed urgently. Bariatric surgery is a very effective treatment option to reduce excess weight and often performed in women of reproductive age. Weight loss influences fertility positively and can resolve hormonal imbalance. So far, guidelines suggest conceiving after losing maximum weight and thus recommend conception at least 12–24 months after surgery. As limited data of these suggestions exist, further evidence is urgently needed as well for weight gain in pregnancy. Oral glucose tolerance tests for the diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) should not be performed after bariatric procedures due to potential hypoglycaemic adverse events and high variability of glucose levels after glucose load. This challenges the utility of the usual diagnostic criteria for GDM in accurate prediction of complications. Furthermore, recommendations on essential nutrient supplementation in pregnancy and lactation in women after bariatric surgery are scarce. In addition, nutritional deficiencies or daily intake recommendations in pregnant women after bariatric surgery are not well investigated. This review summarizes current evidence, proposes clinical recommendations in pregnant women after bariatric surgery, and highlights areas of lack of evidence and the resulting urgent need for more clinical investigations.