Pregnancy And Diabetes: Planning For Pregnancy

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Introduction

Talk to your doctor if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and are planning to get pregnant. You may need to fine-tune your diabetes care before you get pregnant to make sure that both you and your baby are healthy.

Key Points

• If you have diabetes and want to get pregnant, the most important thing you can do is to get your blood sugar in a normal or near-normal range. This can help prevent miscarriages and birth defects in your baby and keep you healthy.
• Check your blood sugar often, so you will know if your blood sugar is under control.
• Get regular exercise, and eat healthy foods. This can keep you at a healthy weight or help you lose weight before you get pregnant if you need to.
• Take folic acid supplements before you get pregnant. This may help prevent neural tube defects in the baby.
• If you take medicine, including over-the-counter medicine, talk to your doctor to see if you need to stop or change it before you get pregnant.
• If you smoke, talk to your doctor about getting help to quit. Smoking can harm your baby and increases the chances that you will have problems from diabetes.
• Have your doctor check for problems from diabetes, such as eye or kidney disease. These problems can get worse during pregnancy.

 What is planning for pregnancy when you have diabetes?

 Why should you plan for pregnancy when you have diabetes?

 How can you get your blood sugar under control before you get pregnant?

 Where to go from here

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Last updated:	November 14, 2007
Author:	Merrill Hayden
Reviewed By:	Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine, Kirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology
Editors:	Marianne Flagg, Michele Cronen