By CASSIDY MORRISON SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
An Ozempic boom could be on the horizon amid reports that doctors have started prescribing weight-loss drugs to women struggling to get pregnant.
Ozempic and its sister drug Wegovy have not been approved to treat infertility, but a growing number of women are taking to social media to discuss their surprise pregnancies on the drug.
Doctors do not have conclusive evidence yet that it is a viable treatment for infertility and they are doing so without proof that the blockbuster obesity medicines won’t harm the fetus, experts warn.
But anecdotal evidence suggests women who are in their 40s, poised for menopause or on birth control are falling pregnant shortly after starting the drugs.
The drugs are believed to correct hormone imbalances, and on top of that, losing weight has been associated with a greater chance of conceiving.
Melanie Cree, director of the PCOS clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, told Bloomberg: ‘The ‘oops’ babies on Ozempic and Wegovy are happening all over the place.
‘It’s very exciting, but it’s a bit scary because we’re moving forward without all the data.’
In addition to causing weight loss and shedding fat, which affects estrogen levels, the type of medicine is believed to affect how well the body absorbs oral contraceptives.
Dr William Dietz, physician and chair of the STOP Obesity Alliance at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University, said: ‘This may mean that birth control medications are metabolized or ineffective.
‘I don’t think we know the impact of these drugs on fetal development.’
Forty-year-old Torria Leggett told Bloomberg that she thought she would not be able to become pregnant.
The North Carolina social worker began taking Novo’s Ozempic to treat obesity, then switched to Lilly’s Mounjaro, which is approved for diabetes but prescribed often for obesity.
As she lost weight, she learned she was pregnant.
She said: The weight loss, that’s likely what jump-started it. I couldn’t believe it.’