Hi - trying to conceive - still struggling with A1c

Spangle79

Newbie
Messages
4
Hi all - you may remember me you may not - either way I am 34, Type 1 diabetes and an A1c of 7.5. I have married recently and am now looking to have a baby. I am wondering if anyone else has managed to have a baby at this age with diabetes? Or even if anyone has had a successful pregnancy with A1c of 7.5?!

I am not feeling confident and despite numerous efforts to try to lower my A1c of 7.5mmol it is practically impossible.

Thanks
Rachael
 

melsavage

Active Member
Messages
27
Hi Rachel,
Not exactly a success story, but maybe I can reassure you slightly...
I'm 38, higher HbA1c than yours, and have been trying to conceive for a while now. Consultant and medical team see no reason I shouldn't conceive - so there's hope for you! My hospital has a dedicated nurse for diabetics who are pregnant or trying to become so - my GP referred me, so it's worth finding out if your hospital has a similar service.
Good luck!


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Lisasolo

Member
Messages
9
Hi, I'm 34 also, type 1 and trying to conceive again. My last Hba1c in January was far too high due to my laziness with testing but I'm confident it's now 6-7. Will have another blood test shortly.

I'm sure your Hba1c at 7.5 won't prevent you from conceiving as long as you don't have any other issues.

I'm hoping to conceive before I'm 35 in November! Fingers crossed for both of us x



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LauraMac

Member
Messages
12
Hi.

I had a baby aged 36, nearly 37, being an IDD and really struggling all the while to keep my HbA1C at 9 or less. I aimed for 7.5 or less but it was a huge struggle and I had more hypos than I ever had before. I was under the Endicronolgy Consultants all the way through and had lots of extra scans. Also, you MUST be on high dose, prescription Folic Acid from the GP or hospital, as high BMs increase the risk of baby neural tube defects, mainly spina bifida. Eat as much folate reach food as you can, too, e.g. leafy greens.
I had a healthy baby boy delivered by C-section at 34 weeks, I had to spend the last month of my pregnancy in hospital, which was very tough on the family. And awful hospital food! My baby was in SCBU for two weeks but then home at what would have been 36 weeks gestation, feeding and breathing fine. He has no lingering problems now. He is five years old and a totally healthy wee boy. He weighed about 5.5 lbs at birth, even although the gynaecologist had fretted that he would be tiny.

You can do it, Hon! A health pregnancy IS entirely possible, even with diabetes. I had a history of miscarriages, too, and bad asthma and I had bleeding problems after the delivery but the wee lad was and is fine.
 

Lisasolo

Member
Messages
9
Yes, I agree with the above! My first pregnancy was totally normal. I managed ( with a lot of work) to have a pregnancy A1c of 5.5 and gave birth to Molly who was 7lb 10oz and suffered no ill effects from my diabetes.


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hazyclaire

Active Member
Messages
25
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi Rachael - I know you're meant to aim for below 7 but I don't think 7.5 is too bad, it could be a lot worse.

I'm 33, my last HBa1c was 7.3 but I'm hoping my next one next week will be in the sixes so that I get the ok to start TTC.

Everyone is different and HBa1c is not everything. At 7.5 you could have a fairly level average mmol of 9 which is much healthier in pregnancy than someone with a HBa1c of 6.5 who yo-yos between hypos and highs constantly.

I am under referral to the pre-conception clinic at my hospital and they have been fab - do you have anything like that in your area?

Anyway good luck you both you and lisasolo, we all sound like we're in a similar boat so be nice to keep updated on progress


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MCMLXXIII

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,823
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
In preparation of conception and with a case of gestational diabetes on number 4. We upped the folic acid, before, during :)grin:) and after.
It's no magic bullet but in combination with rasperry leaf ( eases the birth) we think after 4 we cracked it really.

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