More new mothers in the United States are starting GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic and Zepbound after giving birth, according to a research letter published Oct. 1 in JAMA. The study found use rose from less than 0.1% in 2018 to nearly 2% in early 2025 among commercially insured women.
Researchers examined insurance claims tied to more than 1 million births over seven years. The findings add to a fast-moving debate over how these drugs are being used after pregnancy, especially as doctors generally avoid them during pregnancy and evidence on use during breastfeeding remains limited.
Prescriptions rose sharply after delivery
The study, titled Postpartum Initiation of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists Among Commercially Insured Women in the US, was published online Oct. 1 in JAMA. It was written by Sih-Ting Cai, Kosali Simon and Anthony L. Komaroff, and described postpartum GLP-1 drugs as a treatment that may matter for women facing persistent metabolic risk after pregnancy.
The largest increase was among women diagnosed as overweight or obese. In that group, postpartum GLP-1 use rose from 0.4% in 2021 to 3.9% in early 2025, according to the study summary reported by USC Schaeffer and HealthDay. Those women made up about 40% of new postpartum prescriptions.
Women with type 2 diabetes had the highest rate overall, with nearly 1 in 6 starting a GLP-1 after giving birth, according to the report. Most did not begin treatment immediately. Nearly 62% started three to six months after delivery, the study found, a detail that helps show how use is clustering well after childbirth rather than in the first days postpartum.
The study reflects national claims data for commercially insured women in the United States, not a state-by-state or city-by-city breakdown. That means the research confirms a broad rise in postpartum prescribing, but it does not say which communities, hospital systems or counties are driving the increase.
It also does not answer one of the biggest practical questions for new mothers and their doctors: whether the women who started these drugs were breastfeeding. The research could not determine that, according to the HealthDay report and USC Schaeffer summary.
That gap matters because GLP-1 receptor agonists are generally avoided during pregnancy, and researchers say the evidence base during lactation is still thin. Cai, a USC Schaeffer Center researcher and the study’s lead author, said the postpartum period is an important time to address metabolic risk after pregnancy. She also said, “Because evidence on GLP-1 exposure during breastfeeding remains limited, rising postpartum initiation warrants further study.”
The study does not say why each patient was prescribed a GLP-1, but it points to clear patterns. Uptake was strongest among women diagnosed as overweight or obese, and the highest use rate was among women with type 2 diabetes. Those findings suggest clinicians may be turning to the drugs most often for metabolic conditions that continue after pregnancy.
USC Schaeffer said the U.S. prescription start rate was similar to the rate reported among postpartum women in Denmark in a JAMA study last year, despite differences in the two healthcare systems. That comparison suggests the trend is not isolated to one insurance market or one country.
What comes next is less certain. Researchers said more study is needed because postpartum prescribing is rising while evidence on breastfeeding exposure remains limited. For now, the clearest verified takeaway is simple: use of GLP-1 drugs after childbirth has increased sharply, and the data show most women who start them do so months after delivery, not right away.