Pregnancy after bariatric surgery: a single-centre retrospective cohort study

Authors:

Abstract
Background: The number of women seeking bariatric surgery in order to improve their fertility is increasing. Current guidelines recommend that pregnancy should be delayed for at least 1 year post-surgery. However, there are limited data regarding pregnancy outcomes post-surgery, particularly for sleeve gastrectomy. Methods: We performed a single-centre, retrospective cohort study of pregnancies in women post-bariatric surgery. Surgical and maternity records were reviewed and maternal and fetal outcomes examined. Results: Ninety-seven pregnancies in 69 women were documented over an 8-year period. Forty-one women had undergone a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and 28 a sleeve gastrectomy. There were 79 pregnancies with a known outcome; 18 women were lost to follow-up during pregnancy. 32.9% of pregnancies occurred in the first post-operative year. Pregnancies conceived in the first post-operative year were associated with a higher miscarriage rate compared to pregnancies after this time (50% vs 30.4%, P35 kg/m2 also associated with an increased miscarriage rate (22.8% vs 50%, P35 kg/m2. During pregnancy, two women developed gestational diabetes (1.9%) and there were no cases of gestational hypertension. Three women had a post-partum haemorrhage (2.9%). With regards to fetal outcomes, mean birth weight was 3.11±0.1 kg and mean gestational age at birth 39.5±0.4 weeks. Birth weight was not affected by duration from surgery or pre-conception BMI. There were two cases of severe fetal developmental abnormalities. Intrauterine growth restriction was seen in two pregnancies, both in the same woman. Conclusion: Our data support current recommendations to delay conception until 1 year after surgery, however larger data collections are required to build a robust evidence base and allow guideline development.