Top diabetes and pregnancy resources

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease in ehich the body is unable to metabolize sugar properly, usually due to the pancreas's inability to produce enough insulin. The result is elavated levels of sugar in the blood and urine. Type 2 diabetes, the most common form, usually occurs later in adulthood and can often be controlled by diet alone oe by oral medication. Type 1 diabetes, ehich often be controlled begins in childhood, is less common and more severe, requiring close monitoring of the diet and insulin injections to control blood sugar. Serious disease of the kidneys, eyes, heart, and blood vessels is more common with Type 1 diabetes, particulary when the disorder is not kept under complete control.

During pregnancy, the placenta produces several hormones that cunteract the effects of insulin. the body must therefore produce more insulin-as much as 30 percent more-to do the required job. Under normal circumstances, the pancreas is easily able to keep up. In some women who are destined to become diabetic later in life, however, their bodies cannot meet the increased requirements of pregnancy, and they develop diabetes during pregnancy. Called gestational diabetes, this common disorder occurs in 1-3 percent of all pregnancies. These women are usually treated by diet and are monitored more carefully toward the end of pregnancy. Their outlook for having a healthy baby is excellent.

In women who are already diabetic, the control of blood sugar is made more difficult, because of the placental hormones and the nutritional needs of the fetus. Doctors once believed the conditions of woemen with kidney or eye disease as a result of diabetes worsened when they became pregnant.