Bariatric Surgery Before Pregnancy Tied to Premature Infants

TOPLINE:
Women who underwent bariatric surgery prior to pregnancy are more likely to have smaller babies than those who did not undergo the surgery.
METHODOLOGY:
In a cross-sectional matched study, researchers analyzed pregnancy and newborn outcomes among 1282 women in Queensland, Australia, who underwent bariatric surgery prior to pregnancy and gave birth between 2013 and 2018.
The outcomes were pregnancy complications, birth weight of newborn, length of pregnancy, whether the baby was smaller or larger than average, and preterm births.
Women who had surgery were matched 1:10 on age, smoking status, and body mass index to those who did not have the surgery.
Overall, 93% women had a laparoscopic gastric sleeve surgery, 4.3% had a laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery, and the remaining 2.7% had a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.
TAKEAWAY:
Bariatric surgery was associated with a higher risk of having smaller than average babies (odds ratio [OR], 1.78; 95% CI, 1.46-2.17; P < .001) and a lower risk of having larger than average babies (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.44-0.66; P < .001).
The rate of preterm births was higher in women who underwent bariatric surgery before pregnancy than in matched women (10.5% vs 7.8%; P = .007).
Babies born to women who underwent bariatric surgery had lower average birth weights (3223 g ± 605 g vs 3418 g ± 595 g; P < .001).
Women who underwent bariatric surgery showed lower rates of gestational diabetes (15.1% vs 19.9%; P < .001) and pregnancy-induced hypertension (3.7% vs 5.4%; P = .01).
IN PRACTICE:
“Overall prepregnancy bariatric surgery, including restrictive procedures, appears to reduce some maternal pregnancy risks but increases the neonatal risk of lower birth weight, early preterm delivery, and their potential associated long-term sequalae,” the authors wrote.
SOURCE:
This study was led by Jade Eccles-Smith, of the Department of Obstetric Medicine, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. It was published online on September 01, 2024, in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
LIMITATIONS: 
The study’s limitations included the potential bias from manual data entry and missing information. Additionally, the lack of data on maternal diet and weight gain limited the ability to assess how these factors might have affected the growth of the baby.
DISCLOSURES:
The researchers did not report any specific funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
 
Send comments and news tips to [email protected].