Your Health: Balancing diabetes and pregnancy

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – You may not know this, but until a generation or two ago, women with type 1 diabetes were advised to avoid becoming pregnant and having children, due to the health risks of both mother like baby.

But medical advances have made it safe for these young women to have families, with careful planning.

For 25-year-old Elon Barnes, little Robert is the center of his world.

“He’s just a happy, energetic little baby,” Barnes said.

But when Barnes first learned she was pregnant, he knew he would have to work hard for his health and hers. Barnes was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 10 years ago.

“I had actually just learned about diabetes in my high school biology class,” she said.

With type 1 diabetes, the pancreas produces little or no insulin, and patients may have blurred vision, frequent urination, and extreme thirst.

“There is not enough water in the world right now to quench this thirst.”

Diabetes specialist Dr. Rachael Oxman says it’s important for women to start planning before they get pregnant.

“The first trimester is a really difficult time in pregnancy,” said Dr. Oxman. “That’s when babies make all their organs and we want the baby to have a healthy spine and a healthy heart and diabetes management contributes directly to these things.”

Dr. Oxman says that patients should have an A1C, or average blood sugar level, of 6 to 6.5% or less during the first trimester. She says women shouldn’t be afraid to take their insulin.

“It does not cross the placenta. It doesn’t get to the baby.”

Barnes used a continuous glucose monitor, like this one, to check his blood sugar.

“He had to be a very well-behaved diabetic, to say the least.”

It was hard work that paid off with a normal delivery and a perfect baby boy.

Dr. Oxman says it’s important to find a pediatrician who is familiar with the needs of babies born to mothers with type 1 diabetes. A baby’s pancreas, after delivery, needs a few days to self-regulate, so their blood sugar levels need careful monitoring.

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