I am new to this forum but what a great and resourceful site. I just recently celebrated my 30th birthday and my husband I were discussing starting a family. I have had Type 1 diabetes for 23 years, am a pump user and my HbA1C is 6. Im quite an active person and often have hypos after running/swimming/cycling. Do you know how recurrent hypos affect a foetus? Any tips on how to maintain being physically active and avoiding hypos/maintaining a healthy pregnancy are much appreciated.
As a mom with diabetes you will sometimes have highs or lows. But you need to do everything possilbe to correct quickly to avoid lows when you're pregnant.
Since your hypos are mostly related to exercise, you can experiment and find ways to deal with them before getting pregnant. Get Sheri Colberg's book "The Diabetic Athlete" and/or check out Gary Scheiner's online classes at www.type1university.com. Both Colberg and Scheiner have type 1 diabetes and are exercise physiologists.
The try a few things and figure out what works for you. Some people lower their basal for about 8 hours after working out. I typically disconnect my pump when working out and don't bolus or underbolus for the next meal I eat. Some people eat a snack before. Experiment and figure out what works for you.
When pregnant I was way too tired during the first trimester to work out, but in the 2nd and 3rd walked during lunch hours and did water aerobics or yoga a couple nights a week. The exercise made me feel good and helped a lot in the 3rd trimester when insulin resistance started.
It's hard to find research on hypoglycemia's effect on a fetus because most doctors are concerned about high blood sugar in moms with diabetes. In some older studies hypoglycemia is been linked to birth defects like lower birthweight, lower IQ and neurological problems. Most studies look at people who have chonic hypoglycemia. With diabetes it just happens sporadically.
There have been studies done with animals (cats) where hypoglycemia is induced periodically in the expecting mom and their offspring have neurological and developmental problems.
So to state the obvious, try to avoid hypos when pregnant. But when they happen just treat quickly and don't stress about them. I had a few hypos when pregnant (non severe) and my son was born with normal insulin level and otherwise healthy. He's extremely intelligent too. Sure I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom. =)
Once you get the exercise induced hypos diminished you will be in great health to have a baby. You are young and your diabetes is in good control. There's no reason you can't have a healthy child and a healthy pregnancy.
I am not sure about if it affects the fetus or not. I think that is something you should probably ask your doctor. But, once you become pregnant everything is going to be trial and error because what works one day won't work the next day. That is WITHOUT exercising. You can still be physically active during your pregnancy they actually recommend it. I would say you would have to be in even tighter control especially in the beginning when you are more likely to have hypos. As Jenna said the first trimester you may feel more tired and even have morning sickness to slow you down a bit but, 2nd trimester is like you get this crazy burst of energy and you dont know what to do next!
If you are low you just treat fast with what you usually would and Try not to stress out
You will know your body limits are once you become pregnant and adjust to what works for you. What I can say is that it is a lot more checking and bolusing but, in the end it is all worth it!!