Quitting a GLP-1 Before Pregnancy Linked to Higher Weight Gain, Complications

November 25, 2025
Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter

Women who stop taking a GLP-1 weight loss/diabetes medication just prior to a pregnancy appear to be at higher odds for excess weight gain and complications while pregnant, new research shows.

As the study authors pointed out, potential risks to the fetus of using a GLP-1 while pregnant remain unclear, so current recommendations advise discontinuing the drugs prior to or during a pregnancy.

However, doing so may bring about its own hazards, concluded a team from Mass General Brigham in Boston.

“Additional studies are needed on the balance of pre-pregnancy benefits of GLP-1s with the risks associated with interrupting them for pregnancy,” said study senior author Dr. Camille Powe. She's a Mass General Brigham endocrinologist and co-director of the Diabetes in Pregnancy Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Her team published their findings Nov. 24 in JAMA Network Open.

According to study lead author and pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Jacqueline Maya, the use of GLP-1s by women "has increased dramatically."

Speaking in a hospital news release, she said the study focused on how GLP-1 "discontinuation affects weight gain and outcomes during pregnancy."

To do so, the researchers tracked the medical records of almost 1,800 pregnancies cared for by the Mass General Brigham healthcare system between 2016 and 2025.

Most of these pregnancies occurred among women with obesity.

Outcomes for women who had received a GLP-1 prescription "within three years before and up to 90 days after conception" were compared to women who had not gotten a GLP-1 prescription during that time.

Differences in outcomes were significant.

Women who'd stopped the drugs prior to a pregnancy had an average weight gain during their pregnancy that was 7.2 pounds higher than women who hadn't used a GLP-1, the researchers said.

The GLP-1 group also had a 32% higher odds that the amount of weight they gained while pregnant was unhealthy.

As for complications, women who'd discontinued a GLP-1 prior to pregnancy had a 30% higher risk of developing diabetes while pregnant, a 29% higher risk of blood pressure issues during pregnancy, and a 34% higher risk for preterm delivery, the study found.

The team saw no differences when it came to risks for high or low birth weight or Cesarean delivery.

Because the study was retrospective in nature, it couldn't prove that GLP-1 discontinuation caused any excess in pregnancy risks, only find associations.

Still, Powe said the findings might put women with obesity in a quandary when debating whether to use a GLP-1 prior to a pregnancy.

“We need to do more research to find ways to help manage weight gain and reduce risks during pregnancy when stopping GLP-1 medications," she said.

More information

Find out more about how GLP-1 medications work at the Mayo Clinic.

SOURCE: Mass General Brigham, news release, Nov. 24, 2025

Pregnancy Obesity