Uncontrolled diabetes during pregnancy may cause irreversible losses
Rawalpindi
Uncontrolled diabetes during pregnancy may cause irreversible huge losses for both the mother and the newborn including miscarriage and birth defects involving cardiac problems, lungs and brain of the newborn and to avoid these, the health experts believe that parents must keep watch on diabetes control during and before pregnancy.
Pregnant women with diabetes are almost four times more likely to have a baby with a birth defect or multiple defects than women without the condition and uncontrolled glucose level in a pregnant woman can even cause intrauterine foetal death that is spontaneous death of a foetus at any time during pregnancy.
Controlled blood sugar during pregnancy is extremely important and it is much important that women with diabetes while planning to become pregnant should be informed of the need to establish good blood sugar control before conception, and that maintaining it throughout pregnancy will reduce the risk of miscarriage, birth defects, stillbirth and neonatal death.
Professor of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at Rawalpindi Medical College Dr Rizwana Chaudhry expressed this when contacted by ‘The News’ on World Diabetes Day, Monday.
She explained that there are two types of diabetes in pregnancy, one already existing means a woman is already a patient of diabetes mellitus and the other diabetes first time diagnosed during pregnancy which is called gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). If uncontrolled, both the types can cause huge losses to both the mother and the newborn or foetus, she said.
She said there is a strong association between maternal diabetes and an increased risk of birth defects and it is believed that better control on blood sugar can reduce the risk though it cannot eliminate the risk completely.
It is important that Diabetes Awareness Month is held every November and World Diabetes Day is observed on November 14 and this year, the theme of the WDD is ‘Eyes on Diabetes’.
When asked, Professor Rizwana said the most important thing for a pregnant woman is to keep eyes on diabetes and as early as possible she must undergo screening for diabetes to avoid losses to her health and to minimise risk of birth defects. It is recommended that all women must be aware of their blood sugar level even before pregnancy, she said.
To a query, she said the high blood sugar level in many pregnant women may be because of stress and pregnancy and it is observed that GDM gets vanished after delivery however it reappears during next pregnancy. In nearly 50 per cent of the cases of GDM, diabetes emerges as a disease after 40 years of age and hence, pregnant women with GDM should be more careful in their diet, explained Professor Rizwana.
She said the risk of birth defects among women suffering from Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is much higher and if undiagnosed, the disease may cause greater problems for both the woman and the newborn. Such mothers have greater risks of suffering from serious infections like urinary tract infections (UTIs) in pregnancy that may lead to kidney problems and severe complications along with DVT (Deep Venous Thrombosis) in which blood starts clotting in the blood vessels and the clots may travel directly to heart causing sudden death.
Talking of the remedies, she said pregnant women with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus or GDM should take extra care in their diet during pregnancy and follow proper exercise that may be at least 20 minutes brisk walk daily. They should control their blood sugar through life style interventions. If their blood glucose remains uncontrolled even after lifestyle changes, they must take medicine after advice from a qualified gynaecologist, said Professor Rizwana.