PREGNANT WHILE WE HAVE DIABETES
Women with diabetes could have healthy babies, but it takes planning ahead
and effort. Pregnancy can make both high and low blood glucose levels happen
more often. It can make diabetic eye disease and diabetic kidney disease worse.
High glucose levels during pregnancy are dangerous for the baby, too. So, If
you don't want to become pregnant, it is important to talk with your health
care provider about birth control.
Protect The Baby and Yourself
Keeping your glucose levels near normal before and during pregnancy can help
protect you and your baby. That's why it's so important to plan your pregnancies
ahead of time.
If you want to have a baby, discuss it with your health care provider. Work
with your diabetes care team to get and keep your blood glucose in the normal
or near-normal range before you become pregnant. Your glucose records and your
hemoglobin A1c test results will show when you have maintained a safe range
for a period of time.
You may need to change your meal plan and your usual physical activity, and
you may need to take more frequent insulin shots. Testing your glucose several
times a day will help you see how well you're balancing things. Record the test
results in your logbook or on a log sheet.
Get a complete check of your eyes and kidneys before you try to become pregnant.
Don't smoke, drink alcohol, or use drugs, because doing these things can harm
you and your be born baby.
Have Diabetes During Pregnancy
Some women have diabetes only when they're pregnant. This condition, which
is called gestational diabetes , can be controlled just like other kinds of
diabetes. Glucose control is the key. Your health care team can help you take
charge of gestational diabetes.
How Will Diabetes Affect to Pregnancy ?
During the pregnancy, placenta will produces a few hormones that also affect
how insulin works. That's why, if you already have diabetes, pregnancy should
make your sugar levels more hard to control. The hormonal changes while pregnancy
can also cause diabetes, this is also know as gestational diabetes and typically
resolves after delivery. Cause bye this risk, all women are tested for diabetes
while pregnancy, usually around 24 weeks gestation.
When you experience high (called hyperglycemia) or low (called hypoglycemia)
blood sugars, so does the fetus in your uterus. That's why if diabetes during
pregnancy is not well controlled, it should cause serious complications while
pregnancy and delivery, including very rarely fetal death. You should be aware
of the problems include:
- Birth defects, such as heart defects, kidney problems, gastrointestinal
problems and spinal defects.
- Have a very big baby, making vaginal delivery difficult and possibly making
a Cesarean delivery necessary.
- Neonatal low blood sugar, this is caused by the sudden drop in the baby's
insulin levels after delivery.
- Respiratory distress at baby birth, caused by slower lung development.
- Increased risk of pre-eclampsia, a condition characterized by high blood
pressure and risk of seizures and possibly requiring early delivery.
- Increased risk of urinary tract infections, which if untreated, can spread
to the kidneys, causing harm to the mother and fetus.
- Too much amniotic fluid also know as hydramnios, which can cause preterm
labor (labor before 37 weeks).
Pregnant women with a history of diabetes should have some pre-pregnancy complications
that may progress, increase complications or affect the fetus while pregnancy.
Diabetic kidney disease (nephropathy), eye involvement (retinopathy) and coronary
artery disease (heart vessel blockage) require particular attention before and
during pregnancy to ensure a healthy delivery. In same cases, such as if the
pregnant woman has severe coronary artery involvement, pregnancy may be too
risky for that woman, as she is at high risk for a heart attack.
However, with good prenatal care, almost all women with diabetes can have successful
pregnancies and healthy babies.
The best way to reduce the risk of any complications is to maintain excellent
pre-pregnancy health and to commit to regular prenatal care in order to control
blood sugars throughout pregnancy.
Diabetes Control for Women's Health
Some women with diabetes may have specials problems, such as bladder and kidney
infections. If you have an infection, it needs to be treated right away. Call
your doctor. Some women with diabetes may also have trouble with sexual function.
Discomfort caused by vaginal itching or dryness can be treated.
Ask your doctor how often you should get a pap smear and a mammogram (breast
X-ray). Regular pap smears and mammograms help detect cervical and breast cancer
early. All women --- whether or not they have diabetes --- need to keep up with
these tests.
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