There are many lifestyle choices facing those who are diabetic. In pregnancy, those choices are best made along with your healthcare team. Most diabetic patients have their family doctor and endocrinologist specialists helping them manage their diabetes. For the diabetic in pregnancy, the medical team should be expanded to include an obstetrician and later on possibly a pediatrician.

 

What is the Primary Goal?

 

For the diabetic, in pregnancy, the most important thing to do is control your blood sugar level. Pregnancy in diabetic women is usually complicated most as the result of blood sugar that is not being controlled. Diet, exercise, close monitoring of blood sugar levels, and testing on schedule become even more critical for the diabetic in pregnancy. Remember that you are now responsible for the health of your baby as much as your own.

 

What Will Tightly Controlled Blood Sugar Help Accomplish?

 

A good diabetic diet in pregnancy will help you control your blood sugar level better than anything else. You need to consult your medical care physicians to determine how to best administer any medication or insulin you are on. So what will all this careful monitoring accomplish for the diabetic in pregnancy?

  • Reduced risk of miscarriage and stillbirth – this is a primary concern for the expectant mother, whether diabetic or not.
  • Premature birth risk is reduced significantly if your blood sugar level is not allowed to go out of control.
  • Reduced rate of birth defects – for a diabetic in pregnancy, spine, brain, and heart birth defects are seen at higher rates when blood sugar is not controlled tightly during the first trimester in particular.
  • Decreases the chance of excess growth. If you allow your blood sugar levels to get too high, the excess sugar can cross the placenta. A condition known as macrosomia can develop if this happens. This is when the baby’s pancreas makes extra insulin to handle the excess sugar. This extra insulin speeds up growth, putting the baby at risk of injury during birth and possibly requiring a C-section birth.
  • Babies of mothers who are diabetic in pregnancy often develop jaundice if the blood sugar level is not controlled.

 

These are just a few reasons why you need to take care of yourself and consult your entire medical support group during the entire pregnancy. You and your baby will reap the benefits.