Good control of your blood glucose

Why control your blood glucose tightly?

You may have heard that, in the past, women with diabetes were at increased risk of a miscarriage or of having a malformed baby. Today this situation has been much improved by careful control of expectant mothers' blood glucose.

Controlling your blood glucose is good for you, and good for your baby because:

• In early pregnancy: Good control in the early stages of your pregnancy portects your baby while his or her important organs are being formed
• Later in pregnancy: If your blood glucose is not well controlled later in pregnancy your baby is likely to become very large. This can cause complications at birth for your baby and may make the birth more difficult for both of you
• At delivery: Babies of mothers whose blood glucose has not been well controlled may also have problems straight after their birth, in particular:
  • Some may need a little help with breathing at first
  • Some babies may have very low blood sugar levels
  • Some may develop jaundice

Good control of your blood glucose is the best way for you to look after your baby right through your pregnancy.

How to tighten up your control

Throughout your pregnancy you will be asked to monitor your blood glucose more often and you will be shown how to use your results to improve your levels.

More testing can mean sore fingers, so choose a blood glucose meter like FreeStyle Optium. You will only need a tiny blood drop, so a shallow finger prick will do.

One-off highs and lows

There is a relationship between the food you eat, the exercise you take and your blood glucose levels. If you have a high or low result:

• Look back and try to remember what was different:
  • Did you take extra exercise - like rushing to catch a bus
  • Did you eat a larger meal or have a special treat?
• Discuss what happened with your Diabetes Specialist Nurse or Diabetes Specialist Midwife. He or she will be able to suggest how you can avoid the problem in the future

Looking for patterns

One of the best ways to spot if your insulin regimen needs adjusting is to look for patterns of high or low results by writing them down in a monitoring diary.

Look carefully at the figures:

• Are your levels always low at a particular time of day?
• Or high before or after certain meals?

If you glucose is consistently high or low at certain times of day discuss this with your Diabetes Specialist Nurse or Diabetes Specialist Midwife who will help you adjust your insulin dose to correct the situation.