Postpartum GLP-1 prescriptions rise sharply among U.S. women

More U.S. women are being prescribed GLP-1 medications after giving birth, particularly those diagnosed with diabetes, according to new research from the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics.

The study, published Oct. 1 in JAMA, is among the first to document a surge in new prescriptions for the popular diabetes and weight-loss medications, such as Ozempic and Zepbound, among postpartum women in the United States. It is the first to identify which clinical groups - women with diabetes, gestational diabetes, obesity, or no documented diagnosis - are driving this growth.

Researchers examined private insurance claims data for just over 1 million births during a seven-year period. The share of new mothers starting a GLP-1 prescription within six months of giving birth increased from .08% in the first half of 2018 to 1.9% by the first quarter of 2025-a 24-fold increase.

Women with type 2 diabetes had the highest rate of prescriptions. Among this group, the share starting a GLP-1 prescription increased from 2.3% to 16.9% (or about 1 in 6) over the same period.

The share of those with gestational diabetes who started a GLP-1 prescription also rose substantially, from 0.4% in mid-2021 to 2.7% in first quarter of 2025. Gestational diabetes, which develops during pregnancy among women who previously did not have diabetes, affects about 5% to 9% of pregnancies and greatly increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Prescribing increased fastest in relative terms among those diagnosed as obese or overweight before pregnancy, from 0.4% in the second half of 2021 to 3.9% in the first quarter of 2025.

More recently, women with diagnosed obesity or overweight have represented a greater share of postpartum GLP-1 users. Since the second half of 2024, this group accounted for 40% of new prescriptions among postpartum women, followed by 21% who lacked a documented qualifying diagnosis before giving birth. Most who did not have a pre-pregnancy diagnosis did receive one-usually obesity or overweight-before starting a GLP-1.

Patients are advised to stop using GLP-1s during pregnancy, and most postpartum women who started a GLP-1 did so at least three months after giving birth.

"Postpartum is a critical window for addressing metabolic risk after pregnancy, and we're seeing GLP-1 use explode in this population. Because evidence on GLP-1 exposure during breastfeeding remains limited, rising postpartum initiation warrants further study," said lead author and Schaeffer scholar Sih-Ting Cai.

Despite differences in healthcare systems, the overall prescription start rate among new U.S. mothers was similar to the rate among postpartum women in Denmark, as reported in in a JAMA study last year. The new study does not include mothers enrolled in Medicaid, which covers about 40% of U.S. births.

Source:

University of Southern California

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