There is a complex interaction between being overweight and poor fertility, whereby being overweight may cause hormonal changes that will affect ovulation and your cycle, leading to difficulty getting pregnant. By losing weight, this can be reversed.
One of the many rewards of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is that following significant weight loss, there is an improvement in fertility so women that were previously finding it difficult to become pregnant because of weight related conditions such as polycystic ovarian disease, will have this condition reversed.
It is usually recommended that after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy you should wait for between 18 to 24 months to become pregnant to ensure that you and your body are ready for pregnancy. This waiting time is important to optimise your weight loss and allows nutritional balances to be restored and for weight to stabilise. Waiting to become pregnant also encourages a healthy weight during your pregnancy which is vital for a healthy baby and optimises outcomes for the mother as well.
It is best to consult your health care professionals, such as an obstetrician and the bariatric team, before trying to become pregnant to ensure you are ready for this exciting journey.
