Controlling your diabetes before and during your pregnancy will help prevent such problems as birth defects, prematurity, miscarriage, and stillbirth.
1. Plan your pregnancy and get your body ready before you get pregnant
See your doctor before you plan to get pregnant and as often as recommended during your pregnancy. You might have to take medicines or change your current medicines, including those you take for diabetes.
Control your blood sugar before and during pregnancy to reduce your chance of having a baby with a birth defect.
Work with your doctor to prevent problems or catch them early (i.e., preeclampsia [pre-e-clamp-sea-ah]), or to prevent existing problems from worsening (i.e., kidney, eye, or heart disease).
Common Birth Defects Associated with Diabetes
Birth defects of the brain and spine (anencephaly and spina bifida)
Cleft lip and palate
Congenital heart defects
Kidney defect
Missing limb
2. Eat healthy foods and stay active
Work with a dietitian or diabetes educator to develop a diabetes meal plan for yourself. Learn what and how to eat to keep your blood sugar in control.
Stay active to help keep your blood sugar in control. Exercise regularly—before, during, and after pregnancy. Moderate exercise, such as walking briskly, 2 hours and 30 minutes per week (i.e. 15 minutes twice a day, 5 days a week) is a good goal if your doctor is okay with it.
3. Take your medicines
Follow your doctor's advice.
Take your medicines as directed, including insulin (in-suh-lin) if ordered by your doctor.
4. Monitor your blood sugar often
Be aware that your blood sugar can change very quickly, becoming too high or too low. What you eat, how physically active you are, and your growing baby will change your blood sugar many times during the day.
Check your blood sugar often— as directed by your doctor and any time you have symptoms.
Know what blood sugar levels mean. Learn how to adjust what and when you eat; how physically active you are; and, if prescribed, how much insulin to take depending on your blood sugar tests.
5. Control and treat low blood sugar right away
Check your blood sugar right away if you have symptoms.
Treat low blood sugar quickly. Always carry with you a quick source of sugar, like hard candy or glucose tablets.
Wear a medical alert diabetes bracelet.
Blood Sugar Levels
Even if you have kept your blood sugar in good control before you get pregnant, it can be harder to keep control during pregnancy. But, it's important to do your best! The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says you should try to keep your blood sugar above 70 mg/dL and below these levels:
