For women who are looking to lose weight, especially after having had a child or children, Lap Band surgery may be the answer.

It is only natural that women put on excess pounds during pregnancy, and sometimes removing that weight following the birth of a child can be quite the challenge.

There are also questions from women who may opt for Lap Band surgery prior to a pregnancy and what impact the procedure will have on their ability to conceive.

Having Lap Band Pre-Pregnancy

For women looking to have Lap Band surgery at some point prior to a pregnancy, there are a number of factors to consider.

Lap Band surgery is viewed upon as improving one's overall health. While Lap Band surgery cannot remove serious fertility issues, research has indicated that it can improve a number of factors related to infertility for those who fall into the obese category.

Whether you are a women looking to get pregnant or not, being obese will put you in a higher risk category for a number of health issues.

Obesity is often the cause of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.

Being seriously overweight also results in an increase in the level of two key hormones linked to fertility – estrogen and testosterone. An increase in these two hormones is directly linked to infertility, resulting in irregular or heavy periods.

Weight loss following Lap Band surgery results in normalization of estrogen and testosterone, along with a return to a normal menstrual cycle and better fertility.

For women able to conceive, Lap Band surgery before a pregnancy can assist in resolving the pregnancy-related medical conditions obese women are at risk for, many times leading to a safer and healthier birth.

Lap Band and Post-Pregnancy

Just as women prior to becoming pregnant want to know about how Lap Band surgery could impact them and their baby, women who have had a child or children want to know what the impact of Lap Band surgery is after a pregnancy.

A number of studies have shown that pregnancy is safe following Lap Band surgery if you follow a couple of important guidelines.

To start, for the safety of you and the baby it’s critical to avoid becoming pregnant for one year after Lap Band surgery as this is the time where one’s weight loss will be at its height.

With Lap Band surgery, one can safely conceive six months following the procedure but might not have dropped enough weight yet to avoid pregnancy related health issues.

As with any patients who have had Lap Band surgery, nutritional supplements need to be taken on a regular basis prior to, during and after pregnancy.

Important supplements to increase include iron to make new red blood cells, calcium for mineralization of fetal skeleton, folic acid to prohibit birth defects, vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B12 and vitamin A. Women should also consume protein supplements in the form of protein shakes (Table1) or protein bars to assist in a healthy body.

For more information about Lap Band, call 1-800-953-5000.