Pregnancy in women with Diabetes and Diabetes in Pregnancy (Gestational Diabetes) usually result in a normal delivery with no effects on the mothers long-term health.

Among women with diabetes who become pregnant, the majority will have type 1 diabetes, although some aged 30 plus will have type 2 diabetes.

Any pregnant woman with known diabetes requires specialist care and advice.

Women with type 1 diabetes have a slightly increased risk of having a baby with a birth defect. Excellent control at the time of conception and during the first eight weeks of pregnancy minimises this risk.

It is therefore extremely important to plan the pregnancy and achieve the best possible blood glucose control before becoming pregnant.

Women with type 2 diabetes who are planning a pregnancy ideally should cease taking tablets and achieve excellent diabetes control on insulin before conception.

Careful attention to nutrition is essential, not only for good diabetes control, but to meet the bodys increased nutritional requirements during pregnancy.

Exercise is also helpful in maintaining general fitness and good blood glucose control.

There is no reason why women with diabetes should not breast-feed. Insulin requirements are generally slightly lower in the breast-feeding mother so take particular care to avoid hypoglycaemia. Insulin does not pass into the breast milk and is not harmful to the baby.

However, oral hypoglycaemic tablets are passed into breast milk, and women on tablets before pregnancy should continue on insulin treatment while breast-feeding.