Plate Nº 76 · recorded October 10, 2026
Health & Medicine ResearchReported finding
Postpartum GLP-1 Prescriptions Jumped 24-Fold, Study Finds
New U.S. mothers prescribed GLP-1 drugs within six months of giving birth jumped from 0.08% in 2018 to 1.9% in early 2025. Diabetes, gestational diabetes, and obesity diagnoses drove much of the rise, a JAMA study of over 1 million births finds.
By James Calloway3 min read560 words
In brief
- Postpartum GLP-1 prescriptions rose 24-fold, from 0.08% in the first half of 2018 to 1.9% in the first quarter of 2025.
- Among women with type 2 diabetes, the rate climbed from 2.3% to 16.9% — roughly 1 in 6 new mothers.
- Women diagnosed as obese or overweight before pregnancy saw the fastest relative growth, from 0.4% in H2 2021 to 3.9% in Q1 2025.
- Since H2 2024, women with pre-pregnancy obesity or overweight made up 40% of postpartum GLP-1 starts, the largest single share.
- The study covered just over 1 million privately insured U.S. births across seven years and excluded Medicaid, which pays for about 40% of U.S. births.
GLP-1 prescriptions to new U.S. mothers within six months of giving birth jumped 24-fold from early 2018 to early 2025, a JAMA study of more than 1 million privately insured births reports.
The share of women starting a drug such as Ozempic or Zepbound climbed from 0.08% in the first half of 2018 to 1.9% by the first quarter of 2025. GLP-1 receptor agonists are medicines originally designed to lower blood sugar in type 2 diabetes; they also reduce appetite and have become widely used for weight loss. Clinical guidelines tell patients to stop taking them during pregnancy.
"Postpartum is a critical window for addressing metabolic risk after pregnancy, and we're seeing GLP-1 use explode in this population," said lead author Sih-Ting Cai, a scholar at the University of Southern California's Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. "Because evidence on GLP-1 exposure during breastfeeding remains limited, rising postpartum initiation warrants further study."
Which new mothers are getting these drugs?
Researchers at the USC Schaeffer Center analyzed private insurance claims for just over 1 million births across seven years. They grouped mothers into four categories based on diagnoses before pregnancy: type 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes, obesity or overweight, or no documented qualifying condition.
Prescribing rose in every category, but at very different speeds:
- Type 2 diabetes: The share starting a GLP-1 rose from 2.3% in early 2018 to 16.9% by early 2025 — roughly 1 in 6 new mothers with diabetes.
- Gestational diabetes: Rates climbed from 0.4% in mid-2021 to 2.7% in early 2025. Gestational diabetes develops during pregnancy in women with no prior diabetes diagnosis. It affects 5–9% of pregnancies and sharply raises the risk of later type 2 diabetes.
- Obesity or overweight: This group saw the fastest relative growth, jumping from 0.4% in the second half of 2021 to 3.9% in early 2025.
Who is driving recent growth?
The mix of patients has shifted. Since the second half of 2024, women with a pre-pregnancy obesity or overweight diagnosis have accounted for 40% of new postpartum GLP-1 prescriptions, the largest single share. Another 21% went to women with no documented qualifying diagnosis before delivery; most of those women received such a diagnosis — usually obesity or overweight — before starting the medication.
What does the study miss?
The data carry several constraints worth flagging:
- The dataset covers only private insurance. Medicaid, which pays for about 40% of U.S. births, is excluded.
- Follow-up ends at six months postpartum, so long-term use, persistence, and side effects are unmeasured.
- Most postpartum starters in the study began at least three months after delivery. The researchers did not track whether mothers were breastfeeding — the key evidence gap that Cai emphasized in her comments.
How does the U.S. compare?
The postpartum GLP-1 initiation rate in this privately insured U.S. cohort closely matched a figure previously reported among postpartum women in Denmark. That parallel suggests the rapid uptake reflects broad clinical demand, not only American prescribing habits, the authors argue.
The study, "Postpartum Initiation of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists Among Commercially Insured Women in the US," was published Oct. 1 in JAMA. Cai and her colleagues frame postpartum prescribing as an urgent research priority given limited safety data on breast milk exposure.
via Medical Xpress (Source)
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Staff writer covering marketplaces and e-commerce at SciBeat.
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