Study: Weight-loss Surgery Shows Both Benefits and Risks for Pregnant Women

26 Feb 2015 --- Women who undergo weight-loss surgery may have fewer obesity-related pregnancy risks, but they (and their children) may be at a greater risk of other health concerns, according to a study in Sweden.

Women who had bariatric (weight-loss) surgery were found to be less likely to develop diabetes and less likely to deliver overly large babies, compared to obese women who didn't have the surgery, according to a report published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

But the researchers also found that these women were more likely to have shorter pregnancies and therefore there was a higher chance of them delivering smaller-than-normal babies. 

Bariatric surgery reduces the size of the stomach and can sometimes bypass parts of the digestive tract. 

The study involved 3,000 Swedish pregnancies between 2006 and 2011, including more than 500 who had had weight-loss surgery within the previous five years.

Researchers have stated more studies need to be carried out on women who have had this surgery in order to further examine the benefits as well as the possible complications when pregnancy takes place, according to media reports.