What to do if you have diabetes during pregnancy

  Diabetes during pregnancy includes two types of conditions: one is when you have diabetes before you get pregnant and then get pregnant, which is called combined diabetes, and the other is when you have normal blood sugar before and then have high blood sugar for the first time during pregnancy and are diagnosed with diabetes, which is called gestational diabetes. The treatment of the two is different, but no matter which one it is, you must pay attention to it and go to the hospital for treatment in time.  First of all, its treatment. The first choice is still exercise and diet adjustment, but if diet and exercise cannot control blood glucose, medication should be considered to lower sugar. In patients with diabetes combined with pregnancy, blood glucose should be less than 5.3 mmol per liter before meals, less than 6.7 mmol per liter two hours after meals, no less than 3.3 mmol per liter at night, and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) less than 5.5% during pregnancy. In gestational diabetes, blood glucose control in early pregnancy need not be too strict to avoid hypoglycemia. Fasting blood glucose and nighttime blood glucose need to be controlled at 3.3 to 5.6 mmol per liter, peak postprandial blood glucose at 5.6 to 7.1 mmol per liter, and HbA1c less than 6.0%. Regardless of the type, if the blood glucose does not reach the above standards even after diet and exercise management, you should go to the hospital promptly and ask the endocrinologist to give glucose-lowering medication according to different conditions.  In addition to treatment, monitoring and follow-up should be paid attention to. If gestational diabetes is detected in early pregnancy, termination of pregnancy should be considered if it is accompanied by hypertension, coronary arteriosclerosis, renal hypoplasia or proliferative retinopathy. If the pregnancy continues, the patient should be examined and followed up in a high-risk clinic, once a month until 28 weeks of pregnancy and every 2 weeks after 28 weeks of pregnancy. Blood glucose, urine glucose, urine ketone bodies, urine protein, and blood pressure and weight should be measured each time. Pregnant women with diabetes should generally be hospitalized at 34 to 36 weeks of pregnancy, and even earlier if their condition is serious.  If blood glucose is still not controlled with medication, then termination of pregnancy should be considered. Termination of pregnancy is necessary when the following conditions occur  Maternal side: If diabetes cannot be effectively controlled after treatment, or if it is accompanied by pre-eclampsia, amniotic fluid, arteriosclerosis of the fundus, or renal hypofunction, termination of pregnancy should be considered.  Fetal aspects: Fetuses with combined gestational diabetes often die at 36 to 38 weeks of gestation, so in order to minimize the incidence of fetal death in utero, it is generally considered necessary to terminate the pregnancy at around 37 weeks.  There is also the effect on the mode of delivery. If the diabetes is mild, controlled with medication, stable, the placenta is functioning well and the fetus is not too large, the pregnancy can be delivered vaginally until full term. If the history of diabetes is more than 10 years, the condition is more severe, the fetus is too large, there is relative cephalopelvic asymmetry, the placenta is not functioning well, there is a history of stillbirth or stillbirth, and cesarean delivery should be considered in cases of failed induction of labor. Neonatal management: A neonatologist should be present at the delivery of the newborn of a pregnant woman with diabetes to prevent asphyxia in these babies, which requires timely treatment such as mucus aspiration, tracheal intubation and pressurized oxygen. The newborn should always be checked for blood sugar at birth.  Therefore, once the diagnosis of diabetes during pregnancy is confirmed, patients must pay attention to it, actively cooperate with the treatment and decide whether to continue the pregnancy according to the treatment, otherwise they will face many risks.