GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, initially designed to treat diabetes and obesity, have grown into a phenomenon for weight loss.
Now — according to social media users — they appear to be linked to surprise pregnancies.
Countless women have posted videos online in the last several months talking about their experiences with “Ozempic babies” — getting unexpectedly pregnant while taking GLP-1 drugs for weight loss.
Some women have reported conceiving while still being on birth control at the time — or even getting pregnant after struggling with fertility for years — all while taking this popular class of drugs.
“I certainly didn’t expect this many people to be enamored by our 2024, Ozempic baby journey,” TikTok user Claire Simmons says in a video. “Told my doctor everything, and he was saying it was a wild coincidence, too. It seems like it’s the same for many other people, which is amazing.”
Why are people getting pregnant on Ozempic?
In a video posted late last year, Jonathan Kaplan — a plastic surgeon influencer with more than 2 million followers on TikTok — explained why there may be a correlation between these drugs and people getting pregnant.
One factor is the fact that GLP-1 drugs may slow down the absorption of birth control pills, making them less effective.
“Ozempic helps you lose weight through delayed gastric emptying, meaning food moves more slowly from the stomach to the intestines,” he says. “You feel more full, you eat less, you lose weight. But that delayed gastric emptying can also affect how well absorbed your oral contraceptive pill is. So if it doesn’t get absorbed, your ability to get pregnant may be higher.”
Below Kaplan’s video were plenty of comments from women who said they’ve gotten pregnant while taking the drugs.
“I have PCOS [polycystic ovary syndrome] and started Ozempic for weight loss,” one commenter wrote. “[One and a half] months later and I found out I was pregnant. I am 43 and have not been on the pill for eight years.”
“I was on Ozempic, with my PCOS and got pregnant! 35 weeks Tuesday!” another commenter wrote.
“I got pregnant one month after coming OFF Ozempic after 12 years of infertility,” another person wrote.
Tommy Martin, another physician influencer on TikTok, posted a reaction video to some of the stories and highlighted that there’s definitely a correlation happening. But he cautioned his audience by noting more research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms behind the trend.
“This is really interesting, and there’s a lot of anecdotal evidence that this is happening,” he explains. “Again, this is anecdotal evidence, so we still need randomized controlled trials or retrospective reviews of people increasing the likelihood of becoming pregnant while losing weight on these medications.”
Some experts have pointed to a well-established link between weight loss and increased fertility. Dr. Jamie Grifo, program director at NYU Langone Fertility Center, told Healthline that people with obesity may struggle with fertility issues linked to the disease. Losing weight, in a nutshell, can improve fertility.
“Many high BMI patients do not ovulate, some have PCOS, and many just don’t ovulate regularly,” Grifo said. “With the weight loss from these drugs, many women who are anovulatory start to have regular ovulation and menses, which takes them from a low fertility situation to a more normal fertile state.”
Almost all experts, however, have warned that women should discontinue their use of GLP-1 drugs once they’re actually pregnant, as data suggests that semaglutide could be harmful during pregnancy.
For an April 2024 article on the ‘Oatzempic’ TikTok viral weight loss trend, click here.
