Increasing number of women and men are undergoing weight loss surgeries to conceive
Increasing number of women and men are undergoing weight loss surgeries to conceiveu00a0
The fact that men and women are queuing up at weight-loss clinics may not be news to anyone, but their reason for doing so transgresses somewhat into the unusual. The slimming down is not to attain cosmetic beauty, but to have a baby.
As scientifically proven, obesity may be a cause for infertility. And that is why city bariatric (or weight loss) surgeons are seeing an increasing number of women who want to undergo bariatric surgery only to get pregnant. Incidentally, men are not far behind as obesity interferes with virility as well.
"It is a scientific fact that morbid obesity can be a cause for infertility. There is no doubt that obesity induced infertility is on the rise.
A large number of men and women in the child-bearing age want to lose weight because it is interfering with their hopes of starting a family," said Dr Shashank Shah, bariatric surgeon at Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital, adding that, till date, 25 people aiming to have a baby have undergone bariatric surgery of which 12 have already conceived after losing weight.
Take the case of Darshini Sawant who weighed around 85 kg before she underwent a bariatric surgery with the sole aim of getting pregnant.
"After my first child, I gradually started gaining weight and developed insulin-resistant obesity because of which I was unable to conceive. My gynaecologist advised me to lose weight as it was actually the reason why I was not able to conceive," said Darshini, a radiologist by profession.
"Even after trying various ways of losing weight, including yoga, gym and other alternative treatments, I could not get rid of the flab, mainly on my abdomen region. So as a last resort, I opted for bariatric surgery three years back," Darshini said. Today, she has an 18-month-old daughter.
But it's not always the case that only one partner undergoes weight reduction surgery. In the case of Rina and Shyam, who were desperately trying to have a baby, Rina visited a clinic assuming that her obesity is to be blamed.
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But when the couple got medically evaluated, both had a hormonal imbalance due to obesity. So Shyam also went under the knife to cut the flab.
"Obesity is a metabolic disorder and it affects the oestrogen in females and testosterone in males, eventually affecting the quality of ovum and the sperm count.
Post surgery induced weight loss, the hormones get in place, ultimately helping the couple in having a baby," said bariatric surgeon Dr Jaishree Todkar, who has performed 50 such surgeries on couples yearning for a baby.
Another bariatric surgeon, Dr Ramen Goel said, "There is enough data available to indicate that the possibility of conceiving is higher after a bariatric surgery.
But patients should know that obesity is not the only reason for infertility. Other causes of infertility should be ruled out before opting the surgery with this aim."
(Names of patients have been changed to protect their identity.)
The reversible surgery
For patients who lose weight to have a baby, doctors prefer something called the gastric bending surgery, a simple bariatric procedure that is reversible in nature. Surgeons tie a silicon band around the patient's stomach internally.
The band helps in modifying neurological signals sent to the brain concerning appetite. The patient feels less hungry, consumes less, loses weight and is able to conceive.
After conception, the band can be made lax to get the original appetite back, so that it allows the pregnant woman to eat a wholesome diet.
After delivery, though, women can undergo the surgery again to tighten the band and lose weight.
"Once the patient loses weight and conceives, the surgery can be reversed, thus allowing the mother and baby adequate nutrition.
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There are also several cases where we have re-reversed the surgery after delivery, so the mother can lose weight again," said Bariatric surgeon Dr Shashank Shah.
