Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Diabetes Pregnancy

Question:
We want to have a child, but my doctor scares us by alluding to ominous sounding threats of complications from my diabetes. Has any one had a successful pregnancy with diabetes? What can we expect to be different between our pregnancy and a normal person's?

Answer:
I'm sure that other people who are more knowledgeable on the subject will answer your question, but just in case, let me simply say that you will need to be more rigorous about monitoring your bgs, and possibly take insulin injections, but there is nothing to prevent you from having a complication-free pregnancy. Are you seeing an endocrinologist? You might want to do that at least once to address your concerns and get a referral to an ob/gyn with lots of experience dealing with diabetic pregnancies. (I had gestational diabetes during my first pregnancy, managed it with diet and exercise, and gave birth to a very healthy, happy baby boy.) my doctors gave me dire threats, too....my husband and i have been very afraid of trying to get pregnant. my doctor said high blood sugars can result in spinal cord malformations and the like between the first and second trimesters. terrific, right? heck, if i have to take insulin shots the whole time i'm pregnant, thats fine, just want the baby to be okay. i would be very interested in hearing what other women's doctors have said to them regarding this. i was 5 months pregnant when my doctor and i found out!!!! by that time all that they could do was sent me to the high risk pregnancy clinic at my local hospital....... if i could do *anything* over again, i would have started Materna vitamins the month before i conceived....... my bbboy is 5 1/2 and absolutely a charm.... all fingers, toes, and no defects........ get a referral from your doctor to an endo/gyno or just plain get a new doctor (this one is living 10 yrs in the past) Unfortunately many doctors are really underinformed lately about diabetes/pregnancy management. Control of BG is essential in the first trimester especially because all the organs and limbs are being formed. High BG can affect this process, but, if for whatever reason optimal control is not achieved, a healthy, normal baby can still result. Many of us dont realize we are pregnant till we are past 2-3 months. Diabetes can affect our cycle regularity and really play a nasty number on our stress levels. Insulin shots during pregnancy sucks, (well..they suck anytime), but our bodies become very resistant to our natural insulin and insulin we inject that normalcy takes some doing to achieve throughout the pregnancy. Often insulin levels have to be readjusted several times. My advice is ....do the best you can and dont carry around extra guilt and stress if you mess up once in a while. I've been a Type I diabetic for 20 years and have 2 healthy little girls, born in 1992 and 1993. The key is finding the right doctor(s) and sticking to tight control. My target range was 80-120 mg/dl at ALL times. Sometimes it was a bit difficult, but my healthy little girls made all the work, time in the doctor's offices, and regular ultrasound tests all worth it. I am trying to conceive currently. My doctor said that if my A1c was 6% or better, I could. He also is making me go to the gyno and opthamologist prior to conception. I see my doctor every 4 months regularly. But he said as soon as it happens, he needs to be the first one I call! It is scary. I talked to my doctor. He said these things to me. 1. Your HbA1c has to be 6 or better 6 months prior to conception. He said you have to have good glucose control before conception to avoid/limit complications/birth defects. 2. See the ophthamologist. Pregnancy will affect your eyes. (Not sure I understand this one completely. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.) He said with this pregnancy is not to be a problem. We just have to work extra hard and work long before conception!