Part of your pregnancy preparation, if you have diabetes, should be to confirm that the hospital that you are going to give birth in has a neonatal intensive care unit. Babies who are born to diabetic mothers may need the special services provided in these units. Women who have diabetes have a tendancy to get more vaginal or urinary tract infections and also may need to make sure they have close monitoring of their blood sugar levels.

As far as possible you will monitor your blood glucose measurements and urinalysis at home but you may need to have blood glucose tests in hospital as well and your insulin requirements adjusted. Special attention will be paid to symptoms such as nausea or vomiting and you may need advice from the dietician on how to maintain an adequate calorie intake. A high-fibre diet is advised because it produces a more constant blood glucose. As your baby grows your carbohydrate intake may need to be increased and your insulin adjusted accordingly. Again, your relationship with your doctor is important and you should rely on them for advice on diabetes during pregnancy.

When you are about to give birth, you may be given an I.V. to supply you with insulin and/or carbohydrates. After your baby is born carbohydrate metabolism returns to normal very quickly and insulin requirements will typically fall sharply. If you are breastfeeding then you may need to keep your carb and insulin levels a little higher. Again, talk to your doctor about this.

Pregnancy can influence diabetes in that pregnancy can increase your body’s need for insulin. The development of diabates during pregnancy is called gestational diabetes. This is different from diabetes as a pre-existing condition before pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is a result of pregnancy.

Excessive food intake results in weight gain, over and above pregnancy related weight gain. The health risks for a baby born to an obese mother include obesity and possible diabetes in the child in later life.

At the end of your pregnancy, during labor and delivery you will have more “attention” than usual in that you may be given antibiotics, both your heart rate and baby’s heart rate may be monitored, delivery maybe assisted by forceps so that you don’t have to push and breath too heavily or alternatively a c-section maybe scheduled. After giving birth you will be monitored closely due to the increased blood levels in your system that can place extra strain on your heart.

Folic Acid background
Folic acid is a B vitamin and it was discovered early last century. It became known as folate and occurs naturally in leafy green vegetables such as brocolli and spinach, also black beans lentils, breads, pasta and some nuts. The absorption of folic acid from foods can be low however, and this is why a folic acid supplement is recommended before conception and during the first pregnancy weeks. Although this website does not endorse particular levels of folic acid that are optimum during pregnancy we can tell you that the general recommendation for pregnant and lactating women is 600 mcg/day and 500 mcg/day, respectively. Apparently women with inadequate folic acid intake are more likely to give birth to low birth weight babies (less than 5 ½ pounds) in addition to being more at risk of having a baby with a neural tube defect.

In preparing for pregnancy, if you visit a doctor in advance then he or she will give you an understanding of what you should be doing, what not to do and very importantly figure out what tests you might need based on your family history etc. so that it may be possible to avoid pregnancy complications. There are medical problems you might have and you might not be aware of how they play a role during pregnancy.

Also, the doctor is another person to lean on and many are genuinely supportive before, during and after pregnancy. Not only that but having a good doctor who knows your medical history is an important part of a successful pregnancy. Its a doctors job to help you and many doctors have a vocation to be a doctor and will be more understanding and supportive than you may think. 

The following reads like it is impossible or untrue but there is nothing to suggest that it is untrue. The fact that the person you are about to read about was very much in the public eye, being a Queen and that it was known she could not become pregnant, suggest that this story is in fact true.

This is a summary of page 74 of the Secret of the Rosary by St. Louis De Montfort:

The Queen of France, Blanche of Castille, was deeply grieved because after 12 years of marriage she was still childless. Saint Dominic visited her and advised her to say the rosary evey day to ask God for the grace of motherhood. She listened to his advice and said the rosary every day. In the year 1213 she gave birth to her eldest child, Philip, but the child died in infancy. The Queen, who must have been heartbroken, obviously did not blame God since she increased her prayer life and asked for our Lady’s help more than ever before. She actually had a large number of Rosaries given to all members of the royal court and to to people in several cities in the kingdom and asked them to say the rosary so that she would be blessed with another child. In 1213, Blanche of Castille, Queen of France, gave birth to Saint Louis.

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