What can happen to a woman with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes who becomes pregnant?

Pregnancy is a time when a woman's body goes through lots of changes as it nurtures a developing baby. All women need more nutrients, rest, and energy to grow the baby when they are pregnant. They also need to be physically active. When a woman with diabetes is pregnant, changes happen in her blood sugar, often quickly. If a woman with diabetes does not keep good control of her blood sugar, she might get some of the common problems of diabetes, or those problems might get worse if she already has them. Out of control blood sugar could lead to a woman having a miscarriage. Out of control blood sugar might also cause high blood pressure in a woman during pregnancy, and she will need extra visits to the doctor. High blood pressure during pregnancy might lead to a baby being born early and also could cause seizures or a stroke (a blood clot in the brain that can lead to brain damage) in the woman during labor and delivery. Sometimes, out of control blood sugar causes a woman to make extra large amounts of amniotic fluid around the baby which might lead to preterm (early) labor. Another problem common to a pregnant woman with uncontrolled diabetes is that her baby grows too large. Besides causing discomfort to the woman during the last few months of pregnancy, an extra large baby can lead to problems during delivery for both the mother and the baby.

What can happen to the baby of a woman with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes during pregnancy?

Diabetes in a pregnant woman can cause the baby to have birth defects, miscarry, be born early and have a low birth weight, be stillborn, or grow extra large and have a hard delivery. A woman who has Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes that is not tightly controlled has a higher chance of having a baby with a birth defect than does a woman without diabetes. The organs of the baby form during the first two months of pregnancy, often before a woman knows that she is pregnant. Out of control blood sugar can affect those organs while they are being formed and cause serious birth defects, such as those of the brain, spine, and heart, or can lead to miscarriage of the developing baby.

If the woman`s blood sugar remains out of control throughout the pregnancy, the baby likely will grow extra large. Out of control diabetes causes the baby's blood sugar to be high. The baby makes more insulin and uses the extra calories or stores them as fat. The baby is "overfed" and grows extra large. Extra large babies can occur in women with any out of control diabetes, including Type 1, Type 2, and gestational. The extra large baby can cause problems during and after delivery. Nerve damage to the baby can happen from pressure on the baby's shoulder during delivery. A newborn might have quickly changing blood sugars after delivery. A large baby born to a woman with diabetes might have a greater chance of being obese and/or developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.

If the woman with diabetes has problems that lead to a preterm birth, the baby might have breathing problems, heart problems, bleeding into the brain, intestinal problems, and vision problems. A woman with diabetes might have a baby born on time with low birth weight. A baby with low birth weight might have problems with eating, gaining weight, fighting off infections, and staying warm.

Text courtesy: www.cdc.gov