WOMEN on fat jabs must take effective contraception, health chiefs have warned for the first time.
It comes amid claims of an ‘’ – with more women becoming pregnant while using like and .
To date, the Medicines and Healthcare products Agency (MHRA) has received more than 40 reports involving the jabs, with women online raising fears after discovering they’re pregnant while taking the drugs.
Now, top doctors say the drugs must not be used during pregnancy, while trying to conceive or , over fears they could lead to or .
The MHRA said today: “This is because there is not enough safety data to know whether taking the medicine could cause harm to the baby.”;
Dr Bassel Wattar, a consultant gynaecologist and medical director of clinical trials at Anglia Ruskin University, told The Sun: “It’s not the medication itself, but the weight loss that helps regulate a woman’s hormones allowing her ovaries to function properly again.
“Pregnancy is more of a happy side effect.”;
What’s more, it is thought that GLP-1 drugs could reduce the absorption of , due to the fact they slow down the emptying of the stomach.
Professor Rebecca Reynolds from the University of Edinburgh warned we don’t fully understand the effects these drugs could have on an unborn baby, due to a lack of scientific evidence.
She said: “There is hardly any available data from human studies to be able to advise if these weight loss drugs are safe in pregnancy.
“The data from animal studies suggest the potential for harm with low birth weight and skeletal abnormalities, though more evidence is needed to assess if there are risks of taking these drugs in pregnant humans.”;
Dr Wattar added it is rare for pregnant women to be involved in trials like this, due to the fact it can be “riskier and more expensive”;.
Studies on pregnant rats showed semaglutide – the active drug in Wegovy and Ozempic – caused early pregnancy loss and birth defects.
Meanwhile, similar results were seen in rabbits and monkeys, with miscarriages and developmental issues found in offspring.
The MHRA says women should use reliable contraception if they are taking GLP-1 weight-loss injections, and for up to two months between stopping the jabs and trying to get pregnant.
That means women should take either the oral pill or non-oral options, the implant, coil or use condoms effectively.
The MHRA guidance also warns those specifically taking Mounjaro to use a non-oral method of contraception after studies found the active drug tirzepatide may reduce the effectiveness of oral contraceptives in women who are overweight.
Dr Alison Cave, from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said: “This guidance should not be used as a substitute for reading the patient information leaflet or having a conversation with a healthcare professional as part of the prescribing process.”;
‘The power to harm as well as to heal’
The warning comes as the jabs fuel a boom in demand, with community pharmacies seeing a surge in requests.
Jasmine Shah, of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), said: “Medicines are not like ordinary goods for sale, they must be handled with great care because they have the power to harm as well as to heal.”;
Officials also warned against buying the jabs from dodgy sellers online or in beauty salons, where fake or unsafe products could pose a serious risk.
Anyone concerned about side effects, including severe stomach pain that radiates to the back, a sign of pancreatitis, should seek medical help immediately.
GLP-1 drugs work by mimicking hormones that make you feel full, and some, like Mounjaro, also target blood sugar control.
A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk that makes Wegovy and Ozempic, told The Sun: “There is limited data with semaglutide use in pregnant women to inform a drug-associated risk for adverse maternal and foetal outcomes.
“Semaglutide should be discontinued in women at least two months before a planned pregnancy due to the long washout period.
“Semaglutide should not be used in pregnancy. Women of childbearing potential are recommended to use contraception when treated with semaglutide.
“In other pharmacology trials, semaglutide did not affect the absorption of oral medications (including the oral contraceptive medication ethinylestradiol and levonorgestrel) to any clinically relevant degree.
“Therefore semaglutide is not anticipated to decrease the effect of oral contraceptives.
“Nonetheless, caution should be exercised when oral medications are concomitantly administered with semaglutide.”;
