(NewsNation) — Some Ozempic patients are getting pregnant despite being on birth control or dealing with infertility for years. Doctors say there are a couple of reasons this could be happening.
“I got pregnant on Ozempic and was on the pill! Baby boy is due in June,” one person commented on a TikTok. “My surprise Ozempic baby is almost 4 months old and thankfully very healthy!” another wrote.
Board-certified neurologist Dr. Tom Pitts joined NewsNation’s “Morning in America” to break down the impact of Ozempic on a person’s fertility.
It can “hyper metabolize your birth control, so it’s not in your system as long as you think it is, so increase the metabolism and throw it out of your system,” Pitts explained.
“The other thing I would say is when you take a look at these medicines, we have several conditions like PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome, which create insulin resistance, and that’s why you’re infertile. So by correcting that, you promote fertility,” Pitts added.
However, Pitts noted that weight-loss drugs like Ozempic can’t make someone more fertile.
“If you have ovarian failure or something like that, it won’t wake up the reproductive system, but it will clear obstacles in the way like insulin resistance, for example, and obesity, which will increase estrogen levels and make reproduction harder. So it’ll facilitate fertility,” Pitts said.
Dr. Allison Rodgers, an OB-GYN and reproductive endocrinologist at Fertility Centers of Illinois, told USA Today that while drugs like Ozempic could make it easier to get pregnant, they should not be used to try and increase the chances of having a baby.
“There could be dangerous consequences if taken while pregnant given the drugs can linger in your system,” Rodgers explained.
According to USA Today, tests carried out on monkeys, rats and rabbits revealed that the injections can lead to miscarriage and birth defects if they are used during pregnancy.
Still, many thrilled moms are taking to social media saying their “Ozempic babies” are happy and healthy.
