Uncontrolled blood sugars can cause serious birth defects.
It is unfortunate that I find a need to present this information. I have experience working with thousands of teens and unfortunately many of them get pregnant. I am located in the American Bible belt. They encourage schools to teach “abstinence only” in sex education classes. In today’s society, it appears to not be effective in controlling unwanted pregnancies.
Never trust your schools to adequately prepare your children for pregnancy prevention.
All parents need to take an active role in the discussion of sex and the importance of contraception. Do not expect your child to be adequately informed by the school’s sex education classes.
Know your risks. Research shows, if the mother has gestational diabetes, the child is at increased risk for diabetes. There are a variety of risk factors that can be found on the CDC’s website on Diabetes. You can take their survey to evaluate your child’s risks.
Type 2 diabetics are at risk for the most serious complications in unplanned pregnancies. About 7% of embryos developed with high blood sugars also develop Spinal Bifida. There are other brain and heart malformations that are associated with uncontrolled diabetes.
Typically, babies born under gestational diabetes are over nine pounds. Doctors recommend C-sections due to the increased possibility of broken bones during birth (particularly the collar bone).
The most serious health issue is high blood pressure in the mothers. This can be life threatening to the pregnant woman. If the mother develops high blood pressure, she will often times be placed in the hospital on bed rest until the baby is developed enough to be induced. There is a risk of underdeveloped lungs in the newborn and high medical cost for intensive care for the newborn.
There is a wide variety of birth defects associate with high blood sugars.
All diabetics need to seek pre-conception counseling before getting pregnant.
If you are interested, I have a 30 day course for gestational diabetes.
