Prescribing Trends in Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Medications Among Pregnant and Postpartum Persons.

Abstract

With rising obesity rates and increasing glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) use, understanding perinatal prescribing patterns is important. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine semaglutide and tirzepatide prescribing among pregnant patients in the United States from 2019 to 2024. We analyzed prescriptions during the year before and after delivery, grouping deliveries into 6-month periods and applying segmented linear regression with data-driven change-point detection to identify prescribing-trend shifts. Prevalence of GLP-1 RA prescribing increased from 0.2 to 6.4 per 1,000 deliveries predelivery and from 0.3 to 14.6 per 1,000 deliveries postdelivery, with significant prescribing change points indicating accelerated prescribing in June 2022 for the predelivery period and in March 2021 for the postdelivery period. These findings suggest rapid adoption of GLP-1 RAs in the perinatal period and underscore the need for evidence-based safety data for these medications.