Pregnancy in Diabetes

Example, infants born to mothers with diabetes have about a 10% chance of being born with a birth defect, compared with only 2% of babies born to nondiabetic mothers.

These birth defects typically involve the spinal cord, the kidneys, and the heart. This risk of birth defects can be greatly reduced, however, by achieving normal blood-sugar control before pregnancy even occurs.

In fact, blood-sugar control is most important during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy because this is the time when all of the infant's major organs are formed.

To be safe, you should plan on achieving an A1C level (see Glossary) within 1% of normal before you start trying to get pregnant.

If successful, you will give your baby the best chance for a healthy start in life, and you will also decrease the chances of delivering a very large baby. This will improve your chances of staying healthy, too.