Planning for pregnancy when you have type 1 diabetes might seem overwhelming at first. It is very possible to have a healthy and safe pregnancy when living with type 1 diabetes. The most important thing is to plan ahead and work closely with your healthcare team in all stages of pregnancy and postpartum. Let’s take a look at some things to consider at each stage.
Key Steps Before and During Pregnancy
Before getting pregnant, it’s really important to have your blood sugar levels under tight control. Ideally, your A1C (a measure of average blood sugar over a few months) should be below 6.5%, and even better if it’s under 6%. This close control greatly reduces the risk of complications for both you and your baby.
During pregnancy, specific blood sugar targets are even tighter:
- Fasting glucose (before meals): less than 5.3 mmol/L
- One hour after meals: less than 7.8 mmol/L
- Two hours after meals: less than 6.7 mmol/L
Why Tight Control Matters
Controlling blood sugar so carefully is crucial for several reasons:
- For the mother: It lowers the risk of serious conditions like preeclampsia (high blood pressure and organ problems) and other diabetes-related complications affecting the eyes or blood pressure.
- For the baby: In the early stages of pregnancy, high sugars can be harmful to the baby’s developing organs and could lead to birth defects. Later in pregnancy, high sugars can cause the baby to grow too large (a condition called macrosomia), which can make delivery difficult and cause complications for the baby.
The good news is that with good blood sugar control, the risks for both mom and baby can become as low as those for women who don’t have diabetes.
About the author
Medina Mohamed
Medina Mohamed is a practicing endocrinologist based in Hamilton, Ontario, affiliated with the Boris Clinic at McMaster University.