Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mary on August 12, 2012 at 9:54pm

Hi Ashley,

I have had type 1 for over 20 years and I'm due with my second baby in 2 months. I agree it's a lot to consider and you do have to be ready and well prepared (see endo first, make sure blood sugars are as good as you can possibly get them, know that diabetes will have to take first priority for awhile, etc. etc.). But honestly I have absolutely enjoyed pregnancy despite the sometimes difficult pressure emotionally to have very good sugars, and I have a healthy 2 year old boy and a little girl on the way that also looks healthy so far. Miscarriage rates are very similar to the general population if you can get your blood sugars very well controlled prior to getting pregnant, and still birth risk is extremely low if you're being well followed by a medical team (they do non-stress tests twice weekly the last 2 months of pregnancy to check on baby health). It's even lower if you don't currently have any diabetes complications and if your blood sugars are good during pregnancy. They also tend to induce us early to further reduce risk of still born.
Having kids is the best (& hardest...though not because of diabetes!) thing in the entire world. And pregnancy has been MUCH better than I thought it would be in terms of diabetes. If I can offer maybe one small tip it would be to really work on your blood sugars first to learn as much as you can. I love having my Dexcom CGM so maybe consider that if you don't have one already. I also really liked this article about after meal spikes since that tends to be the biggest issue for me in pregnancy: http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/articles/high-blood-glucose/s... (or you can google "strike the spike"...I have to use more than one strategy to avoid spiking over 140 after meals and avoid lows 3 hours later).

Good luck and feel free to ask any questions if you have any for me! :)

Mary

Permalink Reply by Mary on August 12, 2012 at 9:59pm

Oh and one more thing...if your boyfriend does not have type 1 diabetes, the chances of your children getting type 1 are actually quite low, around 5%. If you'd like your kids to get screened they can get a blood test annually through TrialNet after they are 1 years old (breastfeeding exclusively with no cow's milk/formula exposure in first 6 months might reduce risk for your kids too): http://www.diabetestrialnet.org/. And in terms of being worried about not being there if something happens to you, unfortunately that's a fear for all moms, diabetic or not. And it doesn't go away after pregnancy either! You learn to live with all the normal mom fears & anxieties. :)
Mary

Permalink Reply by ashley on August 12, 2012 at 11:39pm

Thanks a ton :) i will try not to stress as much :) and i will also post here when and if i get pregnant i hope its soon we have been trying for 2 months now no luck yet