How to Plan a Pregnancy When You Have Diabetes

Pregnancy and being a new motherhood would absolutely a great experience for every woman. However, planning for pregnancy will require a very careful plan if you are a patient with diabetes. The baby born to women with diabetes, and especially for those with poor diabetes control, could be put at higher risk for birth defects. Some simple steps given below can help your pregnancy and your lovely baby to be healthy and meaningful.

Meet your healthcare provider

When you are having plans to have a baby, you should meet your healthcare provider for more recommendations. Normally, your doctor will recommend:

• Change your diabetes medications. You need to change several medications which are normally used to control blood sugar levels and treat high blood pressure. You might have to replace oral diabetes medication with insulin. Also, your doctor will make certain changes in treatment approach before you get pregnant.
• Treat certain health issues. Before the conception, you might be suggested for several health treatments in order to avoid diabetes complications. Some diseases may affect your pregnancy are the heart, eye, nerve or kidney disease, high blood pressure.
• Consult with an obstetrician. By scheduling you an appointment with an obstetrician, your healthcare provider will have a more profound treatment to help you avoid risks of diabetes and pregnancy complications.

Control blood glucose level

Learning ways to control blood glucose levels is the best approach in order to avoid diabetes complication during pregnancy. The main goal for a safe pregnancy is to keep your blood sugar level as close to normal as possible. You should know that your baby’s organs such as the brain, spinal cord, or heart begin forming soon after conception. This process could begin before you know you’re pregnant. The brain, the spinal cord, and the heart of your baby are the main organs that may directly affect by the mother’s blood sugar fluctuation. In order to decrease the risk of miscarriage and the birth defects, you need to maintain a good blood sugar control during the earliest days of pregnancy.

To interfere properly the blood sugar fluctuation, your health care provider will require you to reach a specific hemoglobin A1C level.  A1C level is a reflection of the blood sugar level for the past two to three months before conceive. You need to set a target blood sugar range, which will be done by your health care provider. Your doctors will also check and evaluate your diabetes treatment plan and consider any necessary changes to improve it. For instance, some women who want to conceive may need to consider increasing insulin injections for increasing blood sugar control.

For diabetes women, it is extremely important to learn ways of controlling blood sugar levels before getting pregnant. High blood sugar levels may threaten your child safety during the first pregnancy trimester. Always keep your blood glucose under control is the main key to having healthy pregnancy time.