If you have diabetes or are obese, your doctor may prescribe semaglutide — a drug that helps you lose weight. This glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist can be used in combination with a lower-calorie diet and exercise.
But OB-GYNs don’t recommend taking these drugs during pregnancy. That’s because animal studies showed birth complications in some babies, like miscarriages and a lack of growth.
What happens if you get pregnant while taking semaglutide?
Semaglutide is a prescription medicine used to treat obesity and diabetes. It comes as a solution (liquid) that can be injected under your skin. It is usually given once a week.
You should use it on the same day every week. You may change the day of the week that you take it as long as it has been at least 2 days since your last dose.
If you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or think you might get pregnant while taking semaglutide, tell your doctor right away. Using this medicine during pregnancy can cause birth defects or a problem with your unborn baby.
Because of these risks, most doctors don’t prescribe semaglutide to pregnant women. They often do so only if they’re seeing patients with obesity or diabetes, or they are prescribed off-label.
What happens if you get pregnant after you stop taking semaglutide?
Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist that’s used to control blood sugar in people with Type 2 diabetes. It can also help some people lose weight as an additional benefit of taking it.
If you get pregnant on semaglutide, the baby may have a higher chance of miscarriage or low birthweight. These effects are thought to be caused by the way semaglutide works in the body.
To be safe, you should wait at least 2 months before trying to conceive. This will give the medication time to leave your body, and help prepare you for a healthy pregnancy.
After you stop taking semaglutide, your body will return to normal. This means your appetite and metabolism will likely revert to their pre-semaglutide levels. Then, if you don’t continue to eat well and exercise, you could gain back all of the weight you lost on the drug.
What happens if you get pregnant while taking semaglutide with other medicines?
Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) is used along with a diet and exercise program to control blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. It is not used to treat type 1 diabetes (condition in which the body does not produce insulin and therefore cannot control the amount of sugar in the blood) or diabetic ketoacidosis (a serious condition that may develop if high blood sugar is not treated).
If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, talk with your doctor right away about using this medicine during pregnancy. This medication can cause problems in your unborn baby, including birth defects and death.
You should stop taking this medication and call your doctor right away if you have sudden or severe stomach pain, vomiting, or diarrhea that doesn’t go away; bloody or tarry stools; yellow eyes or skin; or a fever, chills, or severe pain in your upper right abdomen. You may have gallbladder problems, including inflammation or formation of gallstones.
What happens if you get pregnant while taking semaglutide with alcohol?
If you get pregnant while taking semaglutide with alcohol, your baby may have health problems. Those problems could include low birth weight, premature delivery, fetal growth restriction and many other issues.
In laboratory animals, semaglutide has also been linked to an increased risk of thyroid tumors including medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), which can be fatal. If you are a female, tell your doctor about your pregnancy at least 2 months before starting treatment with semaglutide.
Don’t drink more than a small amount of alcohol while you are taking this medicine. Having too much alcohol can cause dangerous fluctuations in your blood sugar levels.
This medicine can cause pancreatitis (swelling of the pancreas). Contact your doctor if you have signs of pancreatitis, such as persistent severe stomach pain or bloating, nausea and vomiting, a feeling like something is stuck in your throat, dark urine, yellow eyes and skin.
This medication may also cause diabetic retinopathy. If you have diabetic retinopathy, your doctor will tell you to stop taking this medicine. This happens in less than 1% of people who take this medicine.