Questionmy care for my illness has not been perfect and my last A1c was 10.9! i just found out i am pregnant and i am very concerned (sickly ill) and worrying myself to death over the well being of my baby! Possible birth defects are giving me nightmares and im just completely extra exhausted every day because im losing sleep over worrying! is there any book or article or anything you can tell me that will help calm my fears and let me get excited about being pregnant instead of anticipating a mutant baby in 7 months!
AnswerDear Allison,
Although the A1C test is an important tool, it can't replace daily self-testing of blood glucose. A1C tests don't measure your day-to-day control. You can't adjust your insulin on the basis of your A1C tests. That's why your blood sugar checks and your log results are so important to staying in effective control.
It is important to know that different labs measure A1C levels in different ways. If you sent one sample of your blood to four different labs, you might get back four different test results. But, yes, 10.9 would definitely be above the level we would want you to maintain.
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.
Although birth defects are a possibility with very uncontrolled blood sugars during the crucial times of fetal development, all you can do is control what you do from this point forward. The best chance you can give your baby for a healthy birth is to get control of your blood sugars today and maintain control with proper diet, exercise, and medication control (if needed). Today is when you begin to be a mother and put the welfare of your child ahead of your own desires. Anything from before you found out you were pregnant, you can do nothing about and cannot feel badly for because you did not know there was a child to care for.
I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well and will have a good thought for you and your baby.
Brenda
