Here's What You Should Know If You're Pregnant and Diabetic

Diabetes is a disorder of insulin production and utilization. Your body produces insulin in your pancreas, then uses it to transport dietary sugars from your bloodstream into your cells, which convert the sugar to energy. 

When you have diabetes, though, either you don’t produce enough insulin or your body can’t use it. Instead of fueling your cells, the excess sugars circulate throughout your bloodstream, causing damage to your blood vessels and the tissues that they serve. Diabetes raises your risk for cardiovascular disease, neuropathy, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Whether you have Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, or developed gestational diabetes, the steps you must take to keep yourself and your baby safe are the same. Luckily, they’re the same steps you must take to improve your overall health, too.

At Modern Wellness Clinic in Las Vegas, Nevada, our team of providers are expert at diagnosing and managing all types of diabetes. If you’re pregnant, the following tips help you have a healthy and uneventful delivery.

You have a high-risk pregnancy

Being pregnant with diabetes puts you and your baby into a new category. Even if you’re otherwise healthy, you’re now considered to have a “high risk pregnancy.” That means we take extra care of you and your baby to ensure a healthy delivery.

More than ever, you must keep all of your prenatal appointments. You have to see us and your OB/GYN more regularly than you would if you didn’t have diabetes. We help monitor your blood sugar and may prescribe insulin to keep it stable.

You really are eating for two

Your diabetes doesn’t just affect your own health. If your blood sugar is too high, that affects your baby’s development, too. Uncontrolled diabetes during pregnancy can lead to complications for your baby, such as:

• Preterm birth
• Excessive birth weight
• Breathing difficulties
• Low blood sugar
• Still birth
• Lifetime obesity

It’s more important than ever to pay attention to what you eat and how much you eat, too. Overindulging because you’re “eating for two” can worsen your diabetes. Instead, consider how your diet affects your baby.

If you started your pregnancy at a normal weight you should only gain 25-35 pounds by your ninth month. If you started as overweight or obese, don’t gain more than 15-25 pounds total. 

In fact, if you’re currently obese, both you and your baby benefit from losing fat through healthy eating and exercise. We may recommend medically assisted weight loss to control your diabetes and ensure that your baby gets the most and best nutrition possible. 

Choose the healthiest possible foods

You wouldn’t give your baby a bottle of soda, or feed them Nutella straight from the jar. When you’re pregnant, you’re feeding your baby the same foods that you eat. So now’s the time to make the changes that benefit your baby now and will keep you both healthy over the long term.

Cut out:

• Sugar
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Trans fats
• Alcohol
• Processed foods
• Premade desserts
• Snack foods
• Junk food

But don’t worry about feeling deprived. Load up your plate with healthy foods that are dense with both nutrients and flavors, such as:

• Leafy greens
• Vegetables
• Low-glycemic fruits, such as berries
• Whole grains
• Pastured or grass-fed meats and poultry
• Wild-caught, low-mercury fish and shellfish

Use the USDA’s MyPlate website and app to learn how to create delicious, appealing, nutritious meals. The app also helps you locate well-priced whole and fresh foods in your local supermarket. 

Kick it up

Your baby is probably busy kicking you, or soon will be. It’s a human need to stay active and use your muscles. That goes for you, too. 

If you've been sedentary for a while, pregnancy is the perfect time to start adding activity back into your life. We work with you to custom-design a fitness program that takes into consideration your current abilities and gradually adds in more and varied types of exercise and movement. Try:

• Dancing
• Swimming
• Walking
• Yoga
• Tai chi
• Pilates
• Cycling
• Weight lifting
• Resistance bands

Aim for at least 30 minutes of brisk, heart-pumping exercise every day. 

Track your sugar

We monitor your blood sugar during your regular appointments with us. However, you should keep track too and let us know if anything changes. You should aim for a blood sugar reading of:

• 95 mg/dl or less before a meal
• 140 mg/dl or less one hour after a meal
• 120 mg/dl or less two hours after a meal

We may prescribe insulin to control your blood sugar if it’s too high.

If you’re pregnant with diabetes, get the care you and your baby need by contacting our office by phone at 702-463-9159. You can also use our online booking form.