6 Ways the Lap Band Will Affect Your Pregnancy

What You Need to Know About Having a Baby with This Weight Loss Method

There was a heartbreaking story in The New York Times this week.  Patricia Garcia recently gave birth to a son, Josiah, 11 weeks prematurely.  At first, she could only see him by remote video while he breathed on a ventilator.  Patricia herself faced a host of illnesses and challenges while pregnant, including diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke.  It was a tumultuous, dangerous and emotional experience for her.  At the root of all these complications: obesity.

This is a story that is playing out in hospitals all across the country.  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of five women are obese at the beginning of pregnancy.  With obesity comes a host of risks – diabetes in both mother and child, higher incidence of caesarian births, high blood pressure, preeclampsia and increased premature birth, among them.

If you are overweight and considering getting pregnant, than the good news is you can still get to a healthy weight and ensure a safe, healthy pregnancy for you and your baby.  If you’ve struggled with your weight, then the Lap Band may be a solution for you to lose the weight permanently for you and for your future family. 

Here’s what you need to know about the Lap Band and having a safe, healthy pregnancy:

• The Lap Band can result in a healthier pregnancy.  According to a study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, women who have had Lap Band surgery have pregnancy outcomes that are better than those for obese women and are typical of the general population.

• Losing weight with the Lap Band may improve your fertility.  Being seriously overweight can increase your estrogen and testosterone levels, causing you to have irregular periods.  The weight loss that comes after Lap Band surgery helps bring your hormone levels back where they should be, which may then improve fertility.

• Have the Lap Band procedure at least a year before you want to get pregnant. In the first year after getting the Lap Band, you will be in weight loss mode, and it’s not a good idea for you to get pregnant.  You’ll want to use a contraceptive (other than oral, which may not absorb well) during this time.  After all, if you’re getting banded, then give yourself time to make the most of it.

• Work with your Lap Band provider and your OB/Gyn to get the nutrition you need.  Just as important as getting to a healthy weight before you get pregnant is that you do not lose weight while you’re pregnant.  Your Lap Band provider will adjust your band to its loosest setting and then will have you work with your OB/Gyn on nutrition throughout your pregnancy.  Be sure to take your prenatal vitamins and follow the nutritional advice from your OB/GYN to get the building blocks for a healthy baby.

• The Lap Band is safer than gastric bypass or other weight loss surgeries for pregnancy.  The Lap Band is a minimally invasive and reversible procedure and it is a non malabsorptive procedure. You and your baby can get the nutrients you need to be healthy.  In contrast, gastric bypass has been linked to possible birth defects due to vitamin and other mineral deficiencies in mom.

• As soon as you have the baby, you can begin losing weight again.  When the baby is born, you can have your band adjusted again even if you are breastfeeding to promote weight loss with the approval from your OB/GYN.  In fact, breastfeeding may even help you on your way to your weight loss goal!  Just focus on eating smart, sensible meals with good nutrition for you and your baby.

Do you have questions about pregnancy with the Lap Band?  Do you have a lap band success story to share about your own experience?  Share with us in the Comments section below.

- Nives Champion

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