Prep to conceive

[OrangeUmbrella]

Looking for any resources/tips around preparing to conceive with type 1, then on managing pregnancy. Can anyone share theirs or point me in the right direction?

There are a couple of good books, but actually I found the most useful was that my hospital had a pre conception clinic. Do you know if yours does? There's quite a few Facebook groups too

By the way for me I just tried to get my A1C as low as possible beforehand. Sounds obvious but I think it really helped

I haven't been to clinic since before Covid so not sure if they have anything up. I will make an appointment as soon as I can.

I've only been diabetic for 2 years and my youngest is 4 months so I've been seen pretty consistently the whole time. Pre- conception wasnt really anything special, but I saw DSN and usually nutritionist about once a month and they helped to prepare me and adjust doses.
You'll also need a hefty prescription of folic acid while you're trying to conceive. Good luck! It's a lot but it's so worth it!

Hiya! Type 1 here. Had my daughter last year. I'm just going to list everything I found relevant/important in my pregnancy (sorry, typing quickly as need to get off MN and go to bed 🤦‍♀️😂)

1. Your diabetic consultant should be able to book you in with their pre pregnancy clinic. They will discuss an achievable HBA1C for you to achieve before falling pregnant. This is the most important thing really as the higher the HBA1C, the higher the risk of birth defects. So definitely engage with them!
2. Get your GP to prescribe you a high dose folic acid. From memory it is 5mg I think, higher than the shop bought ones. I read somewhere that you should start taking it a month or two before ttc for best results
3. If/when you become pregnant, get an emergency bag together with spare insulin/glucose tablets/glucose injection together, as your blood sugars can go a bit haywire. Better safe than sorry! FWIW I didnt have any concerning hypos, but my blood sugar did become harder to control.
4. Get a little diary for all your appointments because there will be loads! A lot of them are frustrating and repetitive but stick with it.
5. I found the My Sugr app really helpful so I could track my sugars and record what bolus worked for what meals. My diet was pretty boring but it helped!
6. You will have regular growth scans in the 3rd trimester to check baby's growth. I remember being a bit confused as my baby was on or below 50th centile the whole time, when I assumed she would be a whopper! She was 6lb5 so bang on 50th centile when she was born at 36 weeks. Which brings me nicely on to...
7. If towards the end of your pregnancy you start suffering more hypos than usual, ring your midwife straight away. I noticed this and ended up being induced at 36 weeks (was meant to be 38) as it can be a sign of placental failure. But please dont be alarmed, it is precautionary, DD was fine and the induction was successful.

That's all I can think of really.

As a t1d you will be induced or have a caesarean by 38 weeks, which I found a bit disappointing as otherwise I wouldve liked a MLU water birth. I also felt like constantly monitoring my sugars and going to endless appointments was a bit stressful at times. But DD arrived healthy so I cant complain.

Feel free to message with any questions, I couldn't find a t1d mum on MN when I was pregnant for love nor money!

@Wolfgirrl thank so much - this is literally a lifeline. Why aren’t there more things online from T1 mothers?! It’s so scary but I’m sure worth it

Hi, another person with type 1 here. I would recommend attending preconception clinic a lot. It where I was given Libre on prescription. Which worked really well until the second trimester. It is working well again after birth. But it is a smart machine.

I got pregnant straight after I was given the green light. For me the first week my sugar went high until 6week and then I had so many hypos until the second trimester where everything was same for a few weeks and then it rose. In the end I was doing a set change daily! That was a lot of insulin.

I have three sons and I had type 1 diabetes before I had them and I have had pregnancies using insulin pens (NovoRapid and Lantues) and Medtronic insulin pump. For the interest of transparency I have had one stillbirth, but surprisingly it was during my pregnancy with my tightest diabetic control. What are the chances of that. My diabetic nurse gave me confidence and reminded that healthy people lose babies too. Even the healthiest pregnancies are called low RISK because there is always a risk present. I loved the time I spent with my real ds2 but I was not meant to raise him. Now I have three sons that I raise.