Health First’s NewFit Surgical Weight-Loss Program Helps Women Conceive

Weight Loss and Conception: What Women Lose Brings Big Gains

Health First’s NewFit Surgical Weight-loss Program helps women conceive. As one patient put it, “It was cheaper than fertility treatments.”

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Autumn Faleris had been trying to conceive for several years, but at 230 pounds, she had polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and secondary infertility. Her doctor had told her losing weight would help.

“I did all the yo-yo diets, and I always gained it back,” she says.

Facing the prospect of intensive fertility therapies, she opted first for weight-loss surgery.

“I thought, ‘The weight-loss surgery will be a win-win or a win-lose,’ and it was cheaper than fertility treatments.”

The Stork and the Stomach

Health First’s NewFit is a nationally accredited comprehensive weight-loss program. That means that, along with three surgical procedures – gastric bypass, sleeves and bands – it embarks on extensive pre- and post-operative care for medical and surgical weight-loss patients.

Obesity changes hormone levels in men and women. In young women, it can lead to PCOS, an imbalance of reproductive hormones that leads to menstrual dysfunction and irregular ovulation. Conception rates fall, miscarriage rates rise, and pregnancy complications increase. (Not all PCOS sufferers are obese.)

A NewFit administrator posted a query to the Facebook group, asking women to share their experiences of fertility, pregnancy and motherhood following weight-loss surgery. Several responded.

‘Told I Would Never Have Kids’

Patient Rachel Milton of Rockledge says no matter how much she tried to lose weight, she couldn’t. Karla Strefelder says from having a personal trainer to “typical calories-in-calories-out,” to supplements such as HGH and B-12, she gave everything a go.

“I was overweight all my life,” says Shannon Baxley of Melbourne. “I was always active, so it wasn’t a big issue, but when I was 18, I was told I would never have kids.”

Like Autumn, all three suffered with PCOS. All of the women said that conceiving was a big reason they underwent weight-loss surgery.

“Many women of childbearing years who come to us do so because they want to get pregnant,” says NewFit Surgeon Nathan Allison, MD. “We have patients who have failed to conceive naturally – they’ve gone to fertility clinics, unsuccessfully, having spent a significant amount of money out of pocket. Some over $50,000.”

‘A Mustang Convertible’

A return to fertility can happen quickly. For many patients, it’s a surprise.

“Shocked!” says Rachel. “After rounds of fertility treatments, I couldn’t believe I conceived without treatments.”
“I was going to buy a Mustang convertible the day I found out I was pregnant.”

Rachel’s son Jonah was born four years ago, three years after her surgery. Dr. Allison and his partner, Health First Surgeon Kenneth Tieu, MD, advise holding off on conception for about one year following surgery. It’s not a matter of having an unhealthy pregnancy but of having a sub-optimal loss of weight post-op.

“You’re almost cheating yourself. You haven’t gotten to your goal weight,” says Dr. Tieu.

But not everyone makes it.

“We’d been trying for years,” says Autumn, who had the surgery in March and is pregnant now with twins. “I cried when I found out. I was so happy.”

‘I Can Trust My Knees Now’

Women hoping to conceive will often say that the first reason they seek weight-loss surgery is to improve their health – to lower or eliminate comorbidities like diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea. Having a baby is No. 2. Some offer a third reason that marries the first two – they don’t want to be a low-energy mom.

“I would get in my pool, and just the little steps into the pool, I felt like my knees were going to give out,” says Autumn. “And I thought, I’m too young for this.”

“At the time, all of my friends were having kids,” remembers Karla. “So, I was the fun aunt! That fun aunt would get sweaty and out of breath, then exhausted, you know, just playing with somebody else’s child. You think, ‘How’s it going to be 24-7’?”

“I was 350 pounds when my nephew was 7 months old, and it was very hard,” says Shannon. “I worked child care at 350. Getting off the floor in the blink of an eye is rough. I can do it now. I could not do it then.”

“You have the surgery, you get your health, and you get your baby. And then, you’re healthy raising that baby.”
“I’ll be able to be active [with my daughter] versus sticking her in front of a TV or chasing her and being ten steps behind.”

‘Am I Eating For Two?’

Expectant NewFit moms may worry about their calorie intake when they learn that they’re pregnant. As Autumn described it, a typical day of meals post-op might be roughly the size of a single restaurant takeout order.

“You know, here’s somebody who’s lost well over 100 pounds,” says Karla. “I understand that I am ‘eating for two,’ but you still have that restriction, that actual anatomical restriction.”

In her pregnancy, she gained only 19 pounds.

“The question isn’t, ‘Is it safe?’ It’s safe. But you want to get your optimized weight loss prior to pregnancy,” says Dr. Tieu. “Once they become pregnant, the risk of perinatal complications in or around the time of delivery become lower – blood clots, heart attacks, pneumonia. And risks of complications during delivery are much lower.”

‘Take Control of This’

It’s hard to overstate how blessed weight-loss surgery can feel, says Dr. Tieu.

“My weight-loss surgery patients have suffered obesity and medical problems for so long, they don’t know what it’s like not to have diabetes, not to have sleep apnea, not to take 20 meds a day. They have surgery, and a year later, they’re down to a handful of vitamins!”

All four NewFit moms said the thing they’d go back in time to tell their younger selves is don’t wait.

“I think the No. 1 thing when you talk to people, they wish they’d done it sooner,” says Autumn.
“Do it now,” says Rachel. “I would have the surgery 10 times over again.”

“It gave me more value to life, and that blessed me, which, the more value it gave me, the more I was able to have her,” says Shannon. “Get the surgery. It might seem hard but do it. It’s not impossible. Lean on everybody in the support groups. You can do it. You won’t regret it.”

“It resets your body,” says Karla. “I shed all these layers of illnesses that I feel like contributed to the infertility and to the PCOS.”

Now the mother of a 6-year-old, Karla is able to model the mom she always dreamed she’d be for the daughter who, in turn, will become so much like her younger self.

“They’re a sponge. Your kid will reflect your lifestyle. Yes, you’re able to be more present and active [following weight loss], but this is a lifestyle. If we’re always eating out, fast food, all this processed stuff, she will repeat what she sees. And she would become a different person.”

Visit HF.org/newfit to learn more about weight-loss surgery and see if it’s right for you.

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