is low carb safe during pregnancy?

I attended a research lecture last year which put across just how important it is to keep sugar levels in check during pregnancy.

We were shown graphs of continuous glucose monitors and how the morning was a particular time when blood sugars were hardest to control. To try and cope with the troublesome morning, some of the women would be eating just one egg for breakfast. Essentially, low carb was being advocated during the pregnancy, particularly during the later stages.

I wonder if you could speak to a healthcare professional with a specialisation in diabetes during pregnancy?

Giving birth to a child is a great responsibility. If you're looking for answers or advice, as far as I am concerned you must realise that you won't find a definite answer about the safety of the Low Carb Diet during Pregnancy. Maybe 'reduced carbs' at this time would be better than 'full' low carb ?

The reason for this is because there is no generally accepted rule or any definite research study on this issue. I doubt that there are many who would take the responsibility of giving such controversial medical advice.

You have to think of all the advantages and risks that are involved by using a Low Carb Diet for Pregnancy and decide for yourself. As the previous poster stated, consult with a qualified HCP who is an expert in matters relating to Pregnancy and diet before making any decision.

I'm sure you'll make the right choice, as for any pregnant woman the first priority is her baby's normal development and health.

Becg,

I would definitely seek advice on this matter from your HCP as no one on here is qualified to give you a professional opinion. Hope you conceive again soon and all goes well with your pregnancy.

Nigel

Hi again Becg,

Just found this site (although American) which makes interesting reading and covers your question in full, I would still ask for a professional opinion and again wish you the very best of luck!

http://www.essentialnutrition.org/lcprg1.php

Nigel

I have type 1 and low carb (except for occasional blips ). I did it throughout my pregnancy with my son and it was fine. I saw a dietician in the hospital who said so long as I was getting a mixture of right sorts of food and vitamins it shouldn't be a problem. This is more the remit of a dietician than a diabetic nurse (I'm not keen on either breed but particularly not the latter).

I also had a miscarriage after that and have finally just conceived again and will continue with low carbing as it's the only way I can keep my bs levels under control. (Cravings tend to centre on lots of wholemeal toast and butter)

No low carb is not safe in pregnancy due to ketosis. Ketones are toxic for the baby. That is why the diabetic nurses are insisting on taking carbs during pregnancy. The ketones can cause mental retardation and other problems in the baby. That is the difficulty with gestational diabetes or diabetes in pregnancy. What works alright normally can cause problems for the baby.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketonuria
plus-size-pregnancy.org/gd/gd_ketones.htm

Just to add - babies are quite able to cope with diet fluctuations but sugar fluctuations have a much more serious effect. If you consider that a large number of women will not be eating the best diet for at least 12 weeks if not more due to morning sickness and other appetite suppressant effects of pregnancy (and that's just in the western world not even taking into account poor diet in the developing world) and have healthy babies, there is a certain inbuilt protection to get the babies through.

I'm not sure what foxylady is basing her statement on (no medical professional has ever said anything like that to me over 3 pregnancies and I tell them all that I low carb) but ketones are far more likely to come from high blood sugar than anything else. If low carb helps you keep on as even as keel as possible sugar wise then you're doing the best you can for your (future) baby. Well done!

Many mothers-to-be in the past followed the low fat advice into their pregnancies. Now we have record numbers of children/young adults being diagnosed as T2.

How low is your low carb? I think I'd be reluctant to omit carbohydrate from my diet before or during pregnancy. Brain development needs carbohydrate and unless you are taking vitamin and mineral supplements you could be missing something (and some vitamins can be harmful during pregnancy). Most foetal development happens in the first 12 weeks so it would be most important to provide everything necessary. If something bad happened and it could be proven that your lack of carbohydrate was the cause, would that be something you would be prepared to live with? You can get assistance and/or extra insulin to help control blood sugars that may go awry just because of pregnancy hormones and have very little to do with your diet. Have you been tested for gluten intolerance? Very sorry to hear about your miscarriage. I also miscarried before Khaleb was born and he has Down syndrome.

The initial question that was asked here was "Is low carb safe during pregnancy".

Now whilst some of the advice so far given is good advice there is also some very questionable advice as well. Anecdotal and no real evidence as to whether it is safe or not.

In the circumstances we advise ALL Members reading this thread to take proper advice from their Diabetic Team and HCP's who are skilled in advising Mom's to be and what they should be doing whilst pregnant and after the birth. The 'advice' from the Troll canuck1950 has been removed.

This is too important a subject for anecdotal responses to be taken as what ALL pregnant Women should do.

Forum Monitor's

That's a good point cugila.

Can I just say something about the newborn's blood sugars? I work as a midwife, our unit encourages newly delivered diabetic mums to breastfeed their baby as soon as possible after delivery. There is evidence that colostrum regulates blood sugars better than formula (and that breastfed babies are less likely to develop diabetes than formula fed ones, but that's a different issue) so a good breastfeed soon after delivery before a BM at 3 hours usually results in the baby having an ok BM and no further action being required. If it isn't the baby will be managed on the ward or SCBU but this is not nearly as scary as it sounds, just a case of getting regular amounts of food into the wee one and doing regular BMs until the baby shows that it has stable blood sugars. It is possible to encourage the production of breast milk by pre delivery expressing, ask to chat to your hospital's infant feeding adviser if they have one or La Leche League or your midwife. If your baby is too sleepy to feed quite small amounts of expressed colostrum given by syringe can make all the difference, you really need to prioritise getting food into the wee one.

It is also important for the wee one to be kept warm as temperature loss has very bad effects on blood chemistry. Your midwife should thoroughly dry the infant as soon as s/he is born, then the best way of maintaining temperature is skin to skin contact - the baby in just a nappy and hat on the mother's chest with a dry blanket or towel over them both to stop heat loss. Skin to skin also increases the likelihood of successful breast feeding.

This site is really good for breastfeeding positioning, particularly the video on the For Mums bit

http://www.biologicalnurturing.com/

Best of luck with the pregnancy

If the baby's blood sugars were so out of kilter that it needed to be in a SCBU you probably wouldn't be feeding on demand but to a timed schedule. It's really good news that you've already breastfed two babies as it will be much easier to get the colostrum/ milk supply going and with a bit of pre-expressing may well avoid it ever being an issue. Sounds like the diabetes and maternity units where you are are working well together, good stuff

Best of luck with the family plans