I am a 29 year old type 1 diabetic and have been diabetic for 28 years with no complications. I have a seven year old. During my pregnancy I had many hypoglycemic episodes during and after his birth. In the eight weeks following delivery, I had three severe reactions and passed out for five to six hours, losing all feeling on the right side of my body. I could not control any movements including opening my right eye. I went for all kinds of testing and was told my body was starting to shut down from low blood sugar. I did not have a stroke. I wish to get pregnant again but am worried this will happen again. Will it?

Yes, such profound hypoglycemia could happen again. Glucose control can be difficult during pregnancy with both high and low blood sugars. If a woman has problems with frequent hypoglycemic events, I tend to let them run a bit higher on blood sugar values once they are past eight weeks gestation. Since such events are unpredictable I cannot give you a definitive answer as to what your risk is. Sometimes women using an insulin pump have a smoother blood sugar profile. If you are not already using this device, you may want to consider switching over to one. Also, you should train the people around you the most on how to resuscitate you from a hypoglycemic event.

OWJ