
July 24, 2000
Family Planning, Hypoglycemia
Question from Henderson, Nevada, USA:
I have had type 1 diabetes for 13 years. I am 30 years old. I am 14 weeks pregnant. I have been having many low blood sugars, low being in the 30s. Can my baby have defects related to the low blood sugars?
Answer:
The low blood sugars are not good for you and probably have some effect on the baby in terms of hypoglycemia. However, I am not aware of any data that suggests that low blood sugars are associated with congenital abnormalities as seen with hyperglycemia. In my practice, if a patient is having frequent hypoglycemic events, then I will loosen the degree of glucose control. Since you are beyond the time of embryogenesis, blood glucose will not effect organ development, although there can still be excessive fetal growth due to persistent hyperglycemia.
OWJ