Prepregnancy bariatric surgery linked to preterm birth, smaller infants

Prepregnancy bariatric surgery was associated with fewer obesity-related pregnancy complications, but more pre-term births and small for gestational age (SGA) offspring.

A statewide cross-sectional matched study analyzed 1,282 births from women with pre-pregnancy bariatric surgery, comparing them with 12,820 matched controls based on age, parity, smoking status, and BMI.

Results

• Offspring born to women who had undergone laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy had lower absolute birthweight (3223g ± 605g vs. 3418g ± 595g; p<0.001), fewer large for gestational age (LGA) infants (8.6% vs. 14.1%; p<0.001) and more SGA infants (10.7% vs. 7.3%; p<0.001) than offspring born to matched women.
• Offspring were more likely to be born preterm (10.5% vs. 7.8%; p=0.007) to mothers with prepregnancy bariatric surgery.
• Fewer women with previous bariatric surgery were diagnosed with gestational diabetes (15% vs. 20%; p<0.001) or pregnancy-induced HTN (3.7% vs. 5.4%; p=0.01).

Source:

Eccles-Smith J, et al. (2024, September 2). Am J Obstet Gynecol. Pregnancy and offspring outcomes after pre-pregnancy bariatric surgery. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39233213/