Associations of Pregnancy After Bariatric Surgery with Long-Term Weight Trajectories and Birth Weight: LABS-2 Study

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine whether pregnancy following bariatric surgery affects long-term maternal weight change and offspring birth weight.

Methods: Using data from the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery (LABS)-2 study, linear regression was used to evaluate percent change in total body weight over a 5-year follow-up period among reproductive-aged women who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass or laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding as well as evaluate the association of bariatric procedure type and offspring birth weight.

Results: Of 727 women with preoperative age of 36.1 (6.3) years (mean [SD]) and BMI of 46.9 (7.0) kg/m² , 80 (11%) reported at least one pregnancy. After adjusting for covariates, percent change in total body weight was not significantly different between women who became pregnant and those who did not during a 5-year follow-up period (β = 2.02; 95% CI: -1.03 to 5.07; P = 0.19). Additionally, mean birth weight was not significantly different between mothers who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass versus laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (P = 0.99).

Conclusions: Postoperative pregnancy did not diminish long-term weight loss in women in the LABS-2 study. The finding of comparable weight loss is relevant for providers counseling women of reproductive age on weight-loss expectations and family planning following bariatric surgery.

Figure 1.

Study flow diagram.

Figure 2.

Individual weight trajectories by pregnancy status during postoperative follow-up (pregnant, not pregnant) and bariatric procedure type (Roux-en-Y gastric bypass [RYGB], laporaocopic gastric banding [LAGB]). Red dots represent estimated date of conception for each pregnancy.