What are the risks to my baby during my pregnancy?
Pregnancy in diabetes carries risks for both you and your baby. Babies born to mothers with diabetes have higher rates of birth defects and stillbirth. The babies can also be abnormally large, which complicates the delivery. You can avoid many of these problems by achieving near normal blood-sugar control before and during pregnancy. For example, infants born to mothers with diabetes have about a 10% chance of being born with a birth defect, compared with only 2% of babies born to nondiabetic mothers. These birth defects typically involve the spinal cord, the kidneys, and the heart.
This risk of birth defects can be greatly reduced, however, by achieving normal blood-sugar control before pregnancy even occurs. In fact, blood-sugar control is most important during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy because this is the time when all of the infant's major organs are formed. To be safe, you should plan on achieving an A1C level within 1% of normal before you start trying to get pregnant. If successful, you will give your baby the best chance for a healthy start in life, and you will also decrease the chances of delivering a very large baby. This will improve your chances of staying healthy, too.
The above excerpt is a digitally scanned reproduction of text from print. Although this excerpt has been proofread, occasional errors may appear due to the scanning process. Please refer to the finished book for accuracy.
The above is an excerpt from the book What to Expect When You Have Diabetes by The American Diabetes Association
Published by Good Books; June 2008;$9.95US; 978-1-56148-630-4
Copyright © 2008 The American Diabetes Association
About the author:
The American Diabetes Association is the nation's leading voluntary health organization supporting diabetes research, information, and advocacy. Its mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. The American Diabetes Association is the leading publisher of comprehensive diabetes information. Its huge library of practical and authoritative books for people with diabetes covers every aspect of self-care-cooking and nutrition, fitness, weight control, medications, complications, emotional issues, and general self-care.
To order ADA books, call 1-800-232-6733. Or go to the Web bookstore at http://store.diabetes.org (no www is needed).