Female reproductive issues following bariatric surgery

One in 3 adult American women is obese. Almost half of the approximately 100,000 bariatric surgeries performed in 2004 were on reproductive-aged women. Anatomic and physiologic changes resulting from such surgery may have significant clinical implications for preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum care. This review summarizes these issues and the available related literature, and offers guidelines for care of these patients.

Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Family Physicians.

After completion of this article, the reader should be able to recall that bariatric surgery has many anatomic and physiologic changes that potentially will affect future pregnancies, and state that attention to these physiologic changes and attention to potential nutritional deficiencies significantly improves the chances of a good pregnancy outcome.