1st June 2009

WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY GROUP CALLS FOR PREGNANCY FOCUS

GPs and patients do not have access to ample information about pregnancy after bariatric treatment, despite the fact that a staggering 80 per cent of weight loss surgery patients last year were women. *

The Weight Loss Surgery Group (WLS) has spoken about the lack of support for specialist post-operative care in response to the increasing numbers of its patients who have fallen pregnant after dramatic weight loss.

Although obesity is a major contributing factor to infertility* and it is recognised that weight loss surgery improves the ability to conceive, * medical practitioners are not being fully equipped with the support and information they need to effectively advise these patients on antenatal issues.

To help GPs and bariatric patients, WLS has launched a unique 12-month Antenatal Bariatric Surgery Support Programme to educate and support patients who have become pregnant after weight loss surgery, with monthly reviews and advice sessions on all aspects of pregnancy within the context of their weight loss procedures. WLS hopes this programme, which offers nutritional information, Gastric Band adjustments and labour advice, will become a tool which GPs can utilise.

WLS has also produced a free of charge, informative leaflet, available for GPs and patients alike to download at www.wlsgroup.co.uk/pregnancy.php. The booklet provides practical antenatal advice and information for GPs and women who have had bariatric surgery, to dispel myths and give essential nutritional guidance.

Michelle Bowater, managing director of WLS, had weight loss surgery. After losing an incredible 15 stone, her PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), a symptom of obesity, was alleviated and has just given birth to her first baby.

She said: “The WLS programme, as the only thing of its kind, aims to be helpful and informative, not only giving essential advice, but also providing a crucial support system for bariatric patients. We hope that in time it will be something GPs can refer their patients to. Having bariatric surgery means you absorb fewer nutrients than you would normally, so correct aftercare is vital and I would certainly urge professional GPs to download the free advice leaflet to gain basic knowledge about it.

“As a weight loss surgery patient, I was thrilled to find out I was pregnant but overwhelmed at the lack of information available to me about pregnancy after weight loss surgery. I realised that this must be the case for hundreds of women across the country and so WLS is taking the lead by putting together a comprehensive support programme.”

To find out more about the Weight Loss Surgery Group and its 12-month antenatal programme, visit www.wlsgroup.co.uk.