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December 26, 1999

Family Planning

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Question from West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA:

I am a type 1 diabetic, age 37. I am trying to get pregnant and my obstetrician wanted me to do a HgbA1c test – which was 6.5. He told me he wanted me to get this number down before trying to conceive. What do you think?

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

To help reduce the incidence of congenital abnormalities in the fetus your blood sugar control should be as near normal at possible prior to conception and during the pregnancy, particularly during the first 10 weeks of gestation. The hemoglobin A1c is a way of measuring how good your control has been over the past several weeks. 6.5 is not a bad value. However, the normal range may vary among different laboratories. You should ask your obstetrician what this range is to give you a better idea of the quality of your control.

OWJ