A pregnancy is news of joy and happiness for the family. A new member is on the way to fill the home with love. But when there is a previous illness it is normal to be scared. During pregnancy you have to take better care of your health if possible so as not to endanger the life of the baby or the mother. That is why we leave you an important topic, when you are pregnant with diabetes, to try to solve all the doubts of future moms.
Types of diabetes
Before starting, we should explain what diabetes is and differentiate between the different types that exist. Diabetes is a chronic disease in which the pancreas is unable to synthesize sugar to convert it into energy. This causes altered levels of glucose in the blood that is harmful to our body.
Let's see the types of diabetes there are:
- Diabetes type 1: The pancreas does not produce insulin or does so very poorly. It is necessary to use insulin on a daily basis.
- Type 2 diabetes: The pancreas produces little or is insulin resistant. It is the most common in people over 40 years of age. You should make changes in your diet, check your sugar levels regularly, and exercise to control your diabetes.
- Gestational diabetes: It is a type of diabetes that occurs only during pregnancy. It is usually controlled with good training and exercise, but at other times it is necessary to take insulin.
How can diabetes affect pregnancy?
Diabetes can be harmful to the baby especially during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy, which is where its main organs are formed: lungs, brain, kidneys and heart, so it is necessary to take greater control during it. That is why it is so necessary if you have diabetes and are looking to get pregnant, consult with your doctor, since when we realize that we are pregnant we are already about 4-5 weeks.
Pregnancy brings some very big changes in our body and you may have to change your action plan to keep glucose levels at bay. It can worsen diabetes, bring problems for the baby such as low weight, being born prematurely, respiratory problems, birth defects, miscarriages, risk of pre-eclampsia ...
You have to stay calm and follow medical instructions. Nothing has to happen by taking good medical control, taking care of yourself and leading a healthy life.
What should I do if I am pregnant and have diabetes?
Si tu diabetes is type 1 It is advisable to take more control even before you get pregnant to prepare your body for pregnancy. This will make things easier during pregnancy. Once the pregnancy is achieved, the controls will be much greater. Pregnancy increases insulin resistance, which makes more monitoring of insulin levels in the body necessary. It will be your doctor who will indicate the measures to follow according to your specific case.
It tienes diabetes type 2 Check with your doctor about your intentions to seek pregnancy. He is the one who can best guide you according to your specific case, the desired blood levels and the schedules for the controls. It is recommended to wear a healthy eating and exercise to control weight gains, especially if you are overweight. It is also necessary to control the cholesterol and the tension that are associated with type 2 diabetes. In both types it is necessary check blood sugar levels more often in blood than before.
La gestational diabetes As we saw before, it can be controlled in some cases with a correct diet and exercise, but in other cases insulin will be necessary. In half of the cases, gestational diabetes will disappear after pregnancy, and the other half of women will continue to suffer from type 2 diabetes. It is considered a high-risk pregnancy, due to the complications it can bring. With good control there should be no major problem.
Because remember ... you should take more care not only for yourself, but also for your baby.