GPs 'send urgent sex warning texts' after surprise pregnancy alert

Daily Mirror

a day ago

The news comes after a dramatic warning from health officials that so called 'skinny jabs' could harm unborn babies - advising women to stop taking them if they fall pregnant
Thousands of people in Scotland reportedly received NHS text alerts warning them to use condoms when starting so-called ' skinny jabs ' - amid fears the injections could make the Pill less effective. It comes after a dramatic warning from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which said blockbuster drugs could harm unborn babies and advised women to stop taking them if they fall pregnant.
One NHS practice in Lanarkshire, Lincluden Medical Centre, messaged 9,000 patients urging extra contraception, MailOnline reports. The text read: "These injections can make the contraceptive pill and HRT less effective.
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"If you take the pill with these injections you need to use condoms for four weeks after starting the first injection and for four weeks after any dose increase. If a private clinic is prescribing your weight loss injections make sure you tell them about all the medications you are taking."
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Though experts say solid proof is still lacking, some women have reported falling pregnant on Reddit while on the jab and using the Pill. One shared a photo of her positive test, claiming skinny jabs "make it hard for oral medications (like the Pill) to be effective".
Professor Sir Stephen O'Rahilly, co-director of the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, said side effects like diarrhoea could reduce how well the Pill is absorbed. "It is not implausible," he told The Guardian, advising women to use extra protection until their weight stabilises.
So far, the MHRA has received more than 40 reports of pregnancies on the jabs - including miscarriages and birth defects. Their warning also stated that "there is not enough safety data to know whether taking the medicine could cause harm to the baby". Officials added that those who fall pregnant while on the medications must stop taking them immediately.
The so-called 'skinny jabs' belong to a class of drugs that mimic appetite-regulating hormones, making users feel full. Some target two hunger hormones at once.
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In December last year, The Times reported that over 500,000 individuals were estimated to be using weight loss injections - including both patients prescribed the medications through the NHS and those purchasing them privately.
For those who decide to go private, pens in the UK typically cost between £200 and £300, depending on the dose. The jabs should not be purchased from unregulated sources. In 2023, a BBC investigation caught various online sellers offering an anti-diabetic jab, which also helps with weight management, as a medicine without a prescription.
The probe also found beauty salons in Manchester and Liverpool offering the drug to customers.