Preparing for pregnancy
Whether your pregnancy is planned or a surprise, there are a few steps every woman with type 1 diabetes should take.
Steps to take
Preparing for pregnancy gives you an opportunity to gather information, work towards recommended A1c targets, and practice managing your blood-glucose levels in a tighter range.
Experts recommend the following before and during pregnancy with type 1 diabetes (T1D):
- Meet with a high-risk OB-GYN before trying to conceive
- Maintain an A1c at/below 6.5% before and 6.0% during pregnancy
- Wearing a CGM to give you more real-time information about your blood-glucose levels and patterns
- Consider using an automated insulin delivery system—this is an insulin pump that communicates with your CGM to automatically adjust insulin doses
- Get a thorough dilated diabetes eye exam before pregnancy because pregnancy can affect existing eye complications
- Have your kidney function tested with urine sample collection and a blood draw
- Discuss all medications you’re taking with your healthcare team to determine their safety during pregnancy
- Discuss taking prenatal vitamins and supplements with your healthcare team
- Get and fill a prescription for one of today’s single-step emergency glucagon treatments—low blood glucose is common during pregnancy
- Work with your healthcare team throughout every week of your pregnancy to adjust your insulin doses as your pregnancy progresses
Pregnancy can be one of the most incredible experiences of your life. Managing T1D throughout your pregnancy will be a labor of love and worth every minute of effort.
Create your diabetes pregnancy team
Your healthcare team will be a critical part of your pregnancy journey—ideally starting well before you conceive.
Many women choose to work with a team that includes an endocrinologist, a primary care doctor, and a high-risk OB-GYN with experience supporting T1D pregnancies. While you might not like the sound of a “high-risk” pregnancy, these OB-GYNs come with specialized experience in supporting women with conditions like T1D. They will be best equipped to support you!
You’ll also want an endocrinologist and diabetes educator you feel is truly supporting you. Now is a good time to get a new endocrinologist if you aren’t happy with the support from your current doctor.
If/when you do become pregnant, you will be communicating with your doctor nearly every week to fine-tune your insulin doses and monitor your pregnancy. Make sure you have a team you trust and feel very comfortable with—you’ll be spending a lot of time together!
Lifestyle habits: time to check in
Managing a healthy weight is an important part of fertility, conception, and pregnancy. Being overweight during pregnancy can also increase your risk of complications like preeclampsia and make it more difficult to manage blood-glucose levels due to insulin resistance.
Exercising every single day, even with daily walks, along with eating plenty of whole foods will have a big impact on you and your baby’s health throughout your pregnancy.
As you prepare for pregnancy, consider working with a registered dietitian (RD) and diabetes educator (CDCES) to help you manage your lifestyle habits, including:
- Nutrition: Your diet doesn’t have to be perfect, but the more you can focus on getting plenty of whole foods, the more you’ll provide your growing baby with vital nutrients during pregnancy.
- Exercise: Staying active is good for every part of your health! It’s good for your heart, your weight, your insulin sensitivity, and your mental health.
- Alcohol and smoking: Alcohol and smoking can have severe detrimental effects on the health of your baby. Get the support you need to avoid drinking and smoking during pregnancy.
Creating healthy lifestyle habits isn’t easy, but it’s worth it for the health of you and your baby throughout your pregnancy.
Will I pass T1D on to my baby?
It is natural for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to worry about the possibility of passing the condition on to their children. Fortunately, genetic risk factors do not play a big role in a person’s risk of developing T1D.
About 90% of people who are diagnosed have no family history of T1D. But your child’s risk of developing T1D is about 15 times greater because they have a relative with the condition.
Your child’s risk of inheriting T1D can also be impacted by additional factors like:
- Gender
- Race/ethnicity
- Where you live (the disease is more common in countries further from the equator)
- How old you were when you developed T1D
- The presence of diabetes-related autoantibodies in your body
- Whether one or both parents have the disease
- Your age when the baby is born (if you are a woman)
- Having certain immune system disorders in addition to T1D
Researchers are still trying to understand exactly how genes and environmental factors interact to determine a person’s risk of developing T1D. Breakthrough T1D is powering research to cure, prevent, and better treat T1D and its complications.
Chance your child will inherit type 1 diabetes | |
---|---|
If you give birth before age 25 | 1 in 25 |
If you give birth after age 25 | 1 in 100 |
If you are a man | 1 in 17 |
If both partners have type 1 diabetes | 1 in 10 – 1 in 14 |
If you developed diabetes before age 11 | Your child’s risk is doubled |
More pregnancy guidance
Developing a birth plan with your diabetes team can help you feel better prepared for delivering a baby.
Delivering a baby when you have T1D will be similar to that of other expectant mothers but with close blood-sugar monitoring.
Things to keep in mind while you are healing, feeling sleep-deprived, and juggling T1D as a new mother.
You and your partner are embarking on a very exciting part of life: becoming parents! Learn ways to support your pregnant partner with T1D.
Pregnancy support for T1D moms
Connect with others who have gone through pregnancy with type 1 diabetes in the Breakthrough T1D Community Forum.
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