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."

Sih-Ting Cai, lead author and Schaeffer scholar

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.