Bariatric Surgery may Increase Risk of Premature Birth, Small Gestational Age

Babies that are born after a bariatric surgery are likely to be premature according to a recent study, which may also include small gestational age.

Bariatric procedures have seen an increase over the years as more are choosing this method as a long term option to for weight loss.

However, according to researchers at Karolinska Insitutet, the effects of the operation can be particularly harmful to women.

Researchers looked at data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register and also the Patient Register. They set participants into two groups: One, of 2,500 babies of women who had previously undergone the procedure between 1992 and 2009. And the other with 12,500 babies who were from the women that had not previously undergone bariatric surgery. Each group of the participants showed comparable BMI, age, educational qualifications and smoking habits. Yet infants of women who had previously undergone bariatric surgery had lower weights at delivery and were more likely to be delivered early

"Mothers with the same BMI gave birth to babies of varying weights depending on whether or not they had undergone bariatric surgery, so there is some kind of association between the two," Dr. Olof Stephansson said, obstetrician and Associate Professor at the Clinical Epidemiology Unit at Karolinska Insitutet, via a press release. "The mechanism behind how surgery influences fetal growth we don't yet know, but we do know that people who have bariatric surgery are at an increased risk of micronutrient deficiencies."

At this time, researchers are urging women who have undergone bariatric surgery to take extra precautions during pregnancy.

More information regarding the study can be found via the BMJ.