"Beware of Ozempic Babies" — Doctor Warns That Using Ozempic May Increase Risk of Getting Pregnant

Between TV commercials and skippable ads on the internet, we still get a regular onslaught of commercials for medications. You know, the ones with the highly sanitized shots of happy folks with a voiceover about unsavory ailments. They're usually accompanied by a small description of the benefits that these medications can provide and an absurdly long list of side effects that sound infinitely worse than the thing for which you're taking the medication in the first place.

There's no wonder those commercials always say "ask your doctor about taking this new medicine," because there's no telling what kind of reaction you'll have to it.

But one doctor on TikTok offers a warning to anyone taking Ozempic that the commercials might not tell you about.

His warning is simple yet concise: "Beware of Ozempic babies." Keep reading to find out what the heck he's talking about.

You might have seen or at least heard of Ozempic before. You may have even heard the half-baked and lazy attempt Ozempic ads make to parody the song "Magic" by Pilot.

Well, it might surprise you to know that Ozempic is used for a number of things. It's advertised as a blood sugar medication for people with type 2 diabetes. It can also reduce the risk of cardiovascular illnesses.

However, some people also use it to try and lose weight, and is often used by people who have just given birth and are attempting to lose baby weight. That's where the doctor's warning comes in. According to Dr. Jonathan Kaplan on TikTok (@realdrbae), people who take Ozempic while also taking oral contraceptives may be at increased risk of pregnancy thanks to the reaction between the two.

He explains in his 42-second TikTok, where he references a September 2023 article by Healthline.

"Ozempic or this class of medications helps you lose weight through delayed gastric emptying," Dr. Kaplan states.

Ozempic essentially causes food to move more slowly from the stomach to the intestines, letting you feel full for longer and encouraging reduced eating and subsequent weight loss.

However, delaying gastric emptying can also affect the absorption rate of oral medications, including that of birth control pills.

"If it doesn't get absorbed, your ability to get pregnant may be higher," Dr. Kaplan warns.

He also explains that when the manufacturers behind Ozempic submitted their product to the FDA, they were made aware that Ozempic can have this side effect.

In essence, Ozempic may reduce the effectiveness of your oral contraceptives if you happen to take the two together.

Healthline writes that there is currently "no published research" that explores the relationship between ingredients found in Ozempic and birth control. However, some women in the comments of Dr. Kaplan's TikTok claim that Ozempic itself has led to pregnancy despite years of infertility.

One woman wrote, "Took Ozempic for one month after being told I would never get pregnant naturally. 10 years of infertility and after one month, I'm now pregnant."

Another commented, "Thank god for Ozempic, I am eight months pregnant with my baby boy."

What's interesting about some people's comments is that Ozempic itself currently isn't believed to directly cause increased fertility. Dr. Kaplan's only warning was that birth control pills may be rendered less effective while on Ozempic and that it would simply result in an increased risk of pregnancy, which is vastly different from increased fertility.

But if these expecting parents are to be believed, Ozempic may have more side effects than we thought!