Dr. Elizabeth Stephens, Faculty Endocrinologist for Medical Education at Providence Portland, and Affiliate Professor at OHSU, joined Heather to share tips for healthy pregnancy when you have diabetes.
Since approximately 50% of pregnancies are unplanned, it is especially important that women of childbearing age who are sexually active are as “prepared” as possible – proper planning can go a long way towards ensuring a healthy outcome for all.
“Ideally,” women would have an A1c under 7% when they conceive; but there are plenty of success stories when this was not the case. Being informed about all the diabetes cornerstones of care is part of being prepared, too – and creating that healthy environment for the baby to grow and thrive.
Carb counting, basal/bolus requirements, knowing how exercise affects you, and developing good stress management techniques can all help empower the mother to take control of what she can, while recognizing that the hormones of pregnancy can be very unpredictable.
Regular, frequent monitoring and working closely with an experienced diabetes health care team can also help tremendously.
Have hope!! There is a lot of fear floating around in the world around pregnancy and diabetes. Don’t let that grip you; plan, prepare, take care, and do what you can each moment of the way. It is a lot of work for a mom-to-be with diabetes, no doubt. But is it worth it? We think so. Please share your comments with us.
P.S. Also check out this link which Dr. Stephens mentioned: www.diabetessisters.org
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