(NewsNation) — Ozempic has been making headlines lately as it has been found that the drug does more than just help people manage type 2 diabetes and promote weight loss.
Thus far, there has been no published research that looks at how semaglutides interact with birth control. However, there is still some concern about similar drugs impacting the effectiveness of birth control medications because of how weight loss drugs affect the digestive system.
“If the hormones in birth control pills aren’t being fully absorbed because of the delayed emptying from semaglutide, there’s a chance that the pill may not be quite as effective,” Dr. Phillip Kadaj told Healthline.
All birth control pills contain progestin, which is a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone. Progestin helps prevent pregnancy by halting ovulation, and the concern is that if the progestin isn’t absorbed completely into the body, then ovulation won’t stop.
Kadaj added that this is just theoretical concern rather than a proven one because of the lack of research surrounding it.
According to Planned Parenthood, the only weight loss drug that has been proven to cause issues with birth control is tirzepatide, or its brand name Mounjaro. It’s been shown to affect the amount of birth control pill absorbed by your stomach, which could make it work less well. However, it does not affect other birth control methods.
If you are taking Mounjaro or generic tirzepatide and are using birth control pills, you can switch to a different method like and IUD, implant or ring. You can also use a backup method of birth control like condoms for four weeks when starting tirzepatide, and again each time when you increase your dosage.