Type One & Wanting To Try...

[hawalkden]

Hi =)
I’m Heather, 20 and Type One. I was diagnosed in March 2009 and I just want some advice on what I need to do before trying to conceive.
I know I need to get my hba1c down to below 6% and my last one was in April/May was about 10.1% I think. That result is miles better from when I first got diagnosed which was 34.5%!
I went on the DAFNE Course in April and that is helping my blood results to come down but I just need a little more guidance please?
Also what ‘extra’ things happen while your pregnant and what extra things happen when you see the Midwife?
Thank you
Heather x

 

[mindii]

Hi Heather,
I'm in the same boat as you ( although about 10 years older!) As far as I know (well where I am anyway) you get referred to a Pre conception clinic at the local mat unit where they should have a doctor who specialises in "problem pregnancies" i.e high riskers like diabetes. They monitor you really closely throughout your pregnancy so i'd expect a few more appointments than non diabetics also my consultant mentioned more in depth scans because of the higher risks of fetal abnormalities (that's not to say your pregnancy will be full of problems or your baby will have any either) I think they have to get across the extra risks and I know a few girls who have had terrible control and perfect babies!!
Any way good luck and well done getting your control so much better hopefully it will have got even tighter in the past few months!
Let me know how you go!
Amanda

 

[Tracey167]

hi

I have had 3 pregnancies, the 1st was fine but i had him 5 weeks early by emergency c-section the other 2 were 3 weeks early by c-section, my youngest was born missing her left kidney but no one told me this was because of my diabetes but they are all healthy.

Tracey167

 

[JennySuperB]

Hi there, good luck first of all. Not sure about under 6, is that the recommended? Mine was 6.8, down from a couple of years of regular 8s, and I got pregnant the first time around? I'm 41 so am quite surprised to say the least!

My last two children were born when I was type 1 and they are fine, just control all the way, test and test and test, and walk/exercise after every meal/large snack, it really works.

First child was HUGE, 10lbs, born 'naturally' and second not quite so big, 8 and a half pounds, born under general anaesthetic and recommended C section as the first 'natural' birth was so horrendous!

 

[the_anticarb]

hiya - well I got pregnant by accident so no chance to get my hba1c under control before I got pregnant and it was 9.6 - eek!

But half way through now and all seems to be ok so far from my anomaly scan. It is scary though being diabetic and pregnant.

I test about a million times a day. I am in weekly contact with the hospital and tell them all my test results so they can try and adjust the dosage.

Don't know if you're competent with dafne yet, you will be soon when you get preggers! my advice would be to learn as much as you can about carb counting and dafne'ing it is really vital for tight control - especially when you start to become insulin resistant and need to adjust your ratios.

They will want a hba1c of below 6 during pregnancy, I think below 7 is just about acceptable. Although there are lots of scare stories about there about big/deformed/stillborn babies remember that the vast majority of pregnant diabetics have healthy children. My mum is diabetic and had three of us, all healthy, and this was in the 70s when they didn't even have home testing kits.

If you wait til your blood sugars are good before you conceive (unlike me) then you won't spend the early weeks terrified of having a miscarriage or a deformed baby, as my pregnancy was unplanned it marred the joy I felt at first falling pregnant as I was convinced the baby wouldnt be healthy.

Best of luck