Keep a Close Eye on Women Who Become Pregnant Too Soon After Gastric Bypass Surgery

To study the effect of bariatric surgery on risk for intestinal obstruction in pregnancies conceived postprocedure, investigators analyzed data from a national cohort of Swedish women who had undergone bariatric surgery (primarily gastric bypass operations) from 1987 to 2011 and subsequently became pregnant. A control group consisted of women with first-trimester body-mass index >35 kg/m² who had not had bariatric surgery.

Among 2543 women who became pregnant after bariatric surgery, rates of intestinal obstruction during pregnancy stratified by time since surgery were 3.3% (<1 year), 1.9% (1–2 years), 1.1% (3 years), 0.5% (4 years), and 0.0% (5–12 years). The overall rate of intestinal obstruction requiring surgical treatment was 1.5% for t…