Ozempic patients report higher fertility causing ‘Ozempic babies’

Women are reportedly experiencing an increase in fertility on weight-loss drugs like Ozempic.

Mothers on social media have been coming forward with their stories of getting pregnant while on weight-loss drugs, saying that the drug made it easier for them to get pregnant. On TikTok, there’s been an influx of mothers sharing their “Ozempic Baby” journeys, with one content creator crediting Ozempic with enabling their pregnancy.

“Thanks to Ozempic…this went from a weight loss journey to a pregnancy journal,” Raven Rechelle said in a video. Another user who said she got pregnant on Ozempic, shared that her doctor informed her that the drug may make her more fertile.

Ozempic is approved by the FDA to treat type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy – another popular weight-loss drug – is intended to specifically treat obesity. These popular weight-loss drugs both contain an active ingredient in these medications called semaglutide, which impacts the area of the brain that controls satiety. Celebrities including Oprah Winfrey have touted the drug’s effects, advocating for its quick weight loss results despite its side effects.

Doctors have recently noted that they have increasingly seen more patients on the drug experiencing an increase in fertility, even if the patient is on birth control.

In an interview with People, Dr Iman Saleh, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and director of obesity medicine at the Bariatrics Department at Northwell, explained that she’s noted an uptick in pregnancies among her patients using weight-loss drugs. She told the outlet: “I’ve actually seen a few patients of mine that have come in after a couple of months of usage of the medication for weight loss and have these surprise babies or surprise pregnancies.”

“Even if it’s a 5, 10 lbs weight loss, this can actually have patients resume ovulation and be able to get pregnant,” Dr Saleh continued to the outlet. “Our fat cells produce estrogen and estrogen can have a negative effect on our ovaries in terms of decreased or dysfunction of ovulation. It can also have negative effects on our endometrial lining.”

“Once you lose that weight, even if it’s very slight, they become more fertile and get pregnant,” she added.

Dr Saleh noted that even if the patient is on birth control, the way semaglutide interacts with birth control medication in the body can impact the latter’s effectiveness.

“There is a component with the decreased gastric emptying or the slowing of the gut,” she explained. “As we use these medications to make people make fuller, the absorption changes in our body. And therefore the absorption of patients on birth control can affect the efficacy of the birth control.”

With reports on surprise pregnancies and fertility on the rise, semaglutide manufacturer Novo Nordisk established the FDA-approved Wegovy Pregnancy Registry, in which both patients and providers could report any pregnancies that have occurred while taking the medication.

Although there is a study underway researching the effects of Wegovy exposure during pregnancy that will reportedly be complete by August 2027, the scientific community has not determined the long-term effects yet, with even the Wegovy website cautioning that the drug may cause “fetal harm”. As of now, there isn’t enough information out there due to the drug hitting the market only in recent years.