Impact of weight loss following bariatric surgery on conception and fertility- By Dr. Harsh Sheth.

Obese women of childbearing age may have difficulty conceiving due to a variety of issues, such as PCOS, which causes hormonal imbalance. Failure to lose weight, despite many tries, can create pain and trauma in such women. Bariatric surgery comes to the rescue in these situations because it is one of the most effective treatments for obesity and can assist improve conception chances.
‘Bariatric surgery can assist obese women who have infertility reduce weight, resulting in the resolution of hormonal imbalances,’ says Dr. Harsh Sheth, a top bariatric surgeon in Mumbai. In order to build a thorough strategy for a successful pregnancy, it is necessary to seek professional counsel from a gynecologist and a bariatric surgeon.

Dr. Harsh Sheth is Mumbai’s leading bariatric surgeon in Mumbai, with affiliations including Saifee Hospital, Bhatia Hospital, ACI Cumballa Hill Hospital, Apollo Spectra Hospital (Tardeo), Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai Central, and Conwest & Manjula S Badani Jain Charitable Hospital.
Dr. Harsh Sheth is a bariatric surgeon who specializes in sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, mini-gastric bypass, revision bariatric surgeries, and endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty. He specializes in advanced laparoscopic gastrointestinal, hernia, HPB, splenectomy, and abdominal wall reconstruction surgery.
‘PCOS and obesity are substantial risk factors for infertility, and they are best treated by medical experts using a multidisciplinary approach.’ It has been proved that when a woman loses weight through bariatric surgery, her odds of conceiving improve.’
He tells the patient story of a 32-year-old woman who came to him for obesity treatment after an obstetrician referred her. She weighed 120 kg and had a BMI of 44.3 kg/m2. She also had PCOS, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

She had initially sought IVF treatment from an OBGYN because she had previously failed to conceive naturally. The physician highlighted the importance of achieving a healthy weight before beginning IVF treatment and referred her for bariatric surgery.
Dr. Harsh Sheth performed a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass on the aforementioned patient in 2019 after thorough consultations and preparation, both physically and mentally. She lost about 35 kilograms the following year. To minimize minimal pregnancy-related issues, Sher was recommended to use contraception for at least a year and a half after surgery.
She conceived naturally with the help of her doctor in the year 2020 and gave birth to a perfectly healthy 3.2 kg baby girl 9 months later. Both the mother and the kid are now living healthy, active lives.
Women who have had bariatric surgery must take extra precautions and make extra efforts to prepare for pregnancy. They should seek advice on their nutritional levels as well as the use of dietary supplements and prenatal vitamins to have healthy babies. Women who have had bariatric surgery for at least a year and a half can usually try to conceive.
Patients who are candidates for bariatric surgery must have a BMI of 40 or 35, as well as diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, or any other obesity-related ailment.

Restrictive surgery, which limits the amount of food the stomach can take in, is one of the bariatric surgery alternatives. The surgeon can do a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy here, in which approximately 90% of the stomach is removed, and the remaining stomach is shaped into a tube called a sleeve.’ Similarly, the surgeon can conduct a laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, which entails rerouting the intestines as well as reducing the size of the stomach.
Furthermore, bariatric surgery cannot be planned overnight. To achieve the optimum results, it necessitates extensive preparation, beginning almost one month before surgery and continuing with yearly follow-ups for the rest of one’s life. A thorough physical examination, as well as a variety of pathology and imaging tests, will be performed by the consulting bariatric surgeon and his colleagues.
It’s also crucial to assess the patient’s mental readiness and determination to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle. The patient will have to embrace significant lifestyle changes, including diet, exercise, and smoke cessation.
With the extra benefit of IRDAI’s approval of bariatric surgery claims under health insurance (October 2019), patients can go ahead and not only try to live a healthy lifestyle but also minimize their chances of infertility.
Bariatric surgery has shown to be a lifesaver for women and other patients who are battling to lose weight while trying to start a family. The sound effects of weight loss, which include an increase in the patients’ health quotient and preparation for childbirth, as well as a healthier lifestyle, encourage people who are overweight to consider bariatric surgery as a possible choice seriously.