- The more you can plan your pregnancy, the better, whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and want a family. The greatest chance you have for a trouble-free pregnancy and delivery, as well as a healthy baby, is to keep your blood sugar under control both before and throughout pregnancy. It’s not too late to give your unborn child the greatest start in life, even if you have diabetes and get pregnant unexpectedly. The term “gestational diabetes” refers to diabetes that occurs when a woman is pregnant.
- A person with diabetes is unable to convert the sugars and starches (carbohydrates) in their diet into usable energy. To turn sugars and carbohydrates into energy, the body either doesn’t produce any insulin or produces too little. This results in a buildup of sugar in the bloodstream.
The three most common types of diabetes are:
Type 1
No insulin or very little insulin is produced by the pancreas, hence the body is unable to utilise blood sugar as a source of energy. Diabetes type 1 can only be managed with regular insulin injections.
Type 2
The body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or doesn’t know how to utilise the insulin it does produce to convert blood sugar into energy. Eating a healthy diet and exercising on a regular basis may be enough to keep type 2 diabetes at bay. In many cases, diabetics are required by their doctors to take either insulin or diabetes medication.
Gestational
This is a kind of diabetes that develops during pregnancy in women who previously had no history of diabetes. In many cases, good food and regular exercise are enough to keep gestational diabetes under control. Gestational diabetes may necessitate the use of insulin in pregnant women. Pregnancy-induced diabetes usually disappears within a few weeks after birth for the majority of women who have it. Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed when the condition persists. Half of all women who have gestational diabetes acquire type 2 diabetes once the baby is delivered. To avoid or postpone the onset of type 2 diabetes, women who have had gestational diabetes should continue to exercise and consume a nutritious diet after the birth of their child. Also, she should remind her doctor to do a blood sugar test on her every one to three years as recommended by the American Diabetes Association.
How can diabetes affect my baby?
It is during the first eight weeks of pregnancy when the brain, heart, kidneys, and lungs of the unborn child begin to take shape. Increased risk of birth malformations like heart or brain or spine disorders may be caused by high blood glucose levels in the foetus at this early stage. Because of the increased risk for prematurity, excessive weight gain, breathing difficulties or low blood glucose after delivery that are associated with high blood glucose levels throughout pregnancy, it is important to monitor your blood glucose levels carefully. A stillbirth or miscarriage is also more likely if you have high blood glucose levels, according to the NIH. Stillbirth occurs in the second part of pregnancy when the baby dies in the womb.
How can my diabetes affect me during pregnancy?
Hormonal and other changes in your body during pregnancy affect your blood glucose levels, so you might need to change how you manage your diabetes. Even if you’ve had diabetes for years, you may need to change your meal plan, physical activity routine, and medicines. If you have been taking an oral diabetes medicine, you may need to switch to insulin. As you get closer to your due date, your management plan might change again.
What health problems could I develop during pregnancy because of my diabetes?
Pregnancy can worsen certain long-term diabetes problems, such as eye problems and kidney disease, especially if your blood glucose levels are too high.
You also have a greater chance of developing preeclampsia, sometimes called toxemia, which is when you develop high blood pressure and too much protein in your urine during the second half of pregnancy. Preeclampsia NIH external link can cause serious or life-threatening problems for you and your baby. The only cure for preeclampsia is to give birth. If you have preeclampsia and have reached 37 weeks of pregnancy, your doctor may want to deliver your baby early. Before 37 weeks, you and your doctor may consider other options to help your baby develop as much as possible before he or she is born.
How can I prepare for pregnancy if I have diabetes?
If you have diabetes, keeping your blood glucose as close to normal as possible before and during your pregnancy is important to stay healthy and have a healthy baby. Getting checkups before and during pregnancy, following your diabetes meal plan, being physically active as your health care team advises, and taking diabetes medicines if you need to will help you manage your diabetes. Stopping smoking and taking vitamins as your doctor advises also can help you and your baby stay healthy.
Work with your health care team
Regular visits with members of a health care team who are experts in diabetes and pregnancy will ensure that you and your baby get the best care. Your health care team may include
- a medical doctor who specializes in diabetes care, such as an endocrinologist or a diabetologist
- an obstetrician with experience treating women with diabetes
- a diabetes educator who can help you manage your diabetes
- a nurse practitioner
- a registered dietitian to help with meal planning
- specialists who diagnose and treat diabetes-related problems, such as vision problems, kidney disease, and heart disease
- a social worker or psychologist to help you cope with stress, worry, and the extra demands of pregnancy
Get a checkup
Have a complete checkup before you get pregnant or as soon as you know you are pregnant. Your doctor should check for
- high blood pressure
- eye disease
- heart and blood vessel disease
- nerve damage
- kidney disease
- thyroid disease
Pregnancy can make some diabetes health problems worse. To help prevent this, your health care team may recommend adjusting your treatment before you get pregnant.
Don’t smoke
Using tobacco might raise your chances of having a stillborn baby or having a kid that is born prematurely. People with diabetes are more vulnerable to the dangers of smoking. The use of tobacco products may raise the risk of developing diabetes-related health issues such as eye disease, heart disease, and kidney disease.
See a registered dietitian nutritionist
If you are not currently seeing a dietician, you should begin seeing one as soon as you learn you are expecting a child. Your dietitian can assist you in determining what to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat in order to achieve or maintain a healthy weight before becoming pregnant with your first child. Together, you and your dietician will develop a meal plan that is tailored to your specific requirements, including your schedule, dietary choices, medical problems, medications, and physical exercise routine.
During pregnancy, some women may need to make adjustments to their diet, such as increasing the number of calories, protein, and other nutrients they consume. Because your nutritional requirements alter throughout pregnancy, you will need to visit your dietician every few months.
Be physically active
Participating in physical exercise may assist you in achieving your goal blood glucose levels. Physical activity may also assist to keep your blood pressure and cholesterol levels in a healthy range, as well as to reduce stress, strengthen your heart and bones, enhance muscular strength, and maintain the flexibility of your joints.
Make physical exercise a regular part of your life before you decide to get pregnant. Attempt to get in 30 minutes of physical exercise five days a week.
Consult with your health-care provider to determine which activities are most appropriate for you to participate in throughout your pregnancy.
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What happens if a diabetic gets pregnant?
- It is also possible that high blood glucose levels during pregnancy increase the likelihood that your baby may be delivered prematurely, weigh excessively, or suffer from respiratory difficulties or low blood glucose immediately after delivery. High blood glucose levels may also raise the likelihood of having a miscarriage or having a stillborn baby during pregnancy.
Can a diabetic patient can have a safe pregnancy?
- With diabetes, it is absolutely feasible to have a safe pregnancy, but it will need additional caution. If you have type 2 diabetes and intend to get pregnant, see your doctor beforehand. You’ll need a strategy to keep your blood sugar levels under control — and the objectives for blood sugar levels during pregnancy are much different from those for non-pregnant women.
Can a woman with diabetes have a healthy baby?
- Women with type 1 diabetes may have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby, but it’s crucial to monitor diabetic issues that might increase during pregnancy, such as high blood pressure, eyesight loss, and kidney illness, to ensure that everything goes smoothly.
