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Diabetic retinopathy does that mean I can't have children?
- Thread starter Lois1987
- Start Date
Dark Horse
Well-Known Member
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- 1,840
There are many, many women with background retinopathy who choose to become pregnant.
Pregnancy does increase the risk of progression of diabetic retinopathy which is why pregnant diabetics are screened as soon as possible after their 1st antenatal appointment, at around 10 weeks gestation, and then again at 28 weeks. If background retinopathy is seen, there will be an additional screen at 20 weeks. If there are worrying changes at any of the screens, the mum-to-be would be referred to the hospital eye clinic for further tests and possibly treatment if the changes are significant.
When you decide to have children, talk to your GP as you will need to be referred to a pre-conception clinic. As always, the best chance of avoiding complications is to have good blood glucose control. It is worth spending some time on getting this right before trying to conceive. There is more information here:-
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/diabetes-pregnant.aspx#close
Pregnancy does increase the risk of progression of diabetic retinopathy which is why pregnant diabetics are screened as soon as possible after their 1st antenatal appointment, at around 10 weeks gestation, and then again at 28 weeks. If background retinopathy is seen, there will be an additional screen at 20 weeks. If there are worrying changes at any of the screens, the mum-to-be would be referred to the hospital eye clinic for further tests and possibly treatment if the changes are significant.
When you decide to have children, talk to your GP as you will need to be referred to a pre-conception clinic. As always, the best chance of avoiding complications is to have good blood glucose control. It is worth spending some time on getting this right before trying to conceive. There is more information here:-
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/diabetes-pregnant.aspx#close
C
catherinecherub
Guest
It is not all bad news @Lois1987,
There are some questions and answers here about Pregnancy and Diabetic Eye Disease.
http://www.uhs.nhs.uk/Media/Control...Eyes/Pregnancydiabetes-patientinformation.pdf
There are some questions and answers here about Pregnancy and Diabetic Eye Disease.
http://www.uhs.nhs.uk/Media/Control...Eyes/Pregnancydiabetes-patientinformation.pdf
