I’ve read on your site that it’s possible to reduce the chance of a child of a diabetic parent (father in this case) from developing diabetes by not eating wheat products and drinking regular milk for the first year after birth. Plus, nursing the child for a year or more is recommended. My husband has had type 1 since he was 10. His father also had it, not sure when though. My husband is really concerned that any baby we have will get it as well. So, I’ve been reading up as much as I can and I just am so happy I found your site. Anyway, is there also something I can do before getting pregnant and/or during pregnancy? Is there something I should or should not eat or drink while pregnant?

This is a great question, but nobody really has a great answer. It would be reasonable to think that avoiding milk and wheat products would also be reasonable for a pregnant mom, but there is just insufficient information to make such a recommendation. So, we and most others usually want women contemplating pregnancy and those already pregnant to be healthy, not overweight, exercise reasonably, avoid caffeine and smoking, and take appropriate vitamins such as folic acid per usual obstetrical recommendations. New research continues to look for answers to such questions. The actual risks for a father to have a child with type 1 diabetes are in the 2 to 6% range in most research studies so, if you are optimists, that is 94 to 98% “in your favor.”

SB