Scared to have another?

My son just turned 1. I was so scared during my pregnancy (documented with my frantic posts on here! :slight_smile: and am so thankful that we both made it through with no problems. I was diagnosed when I was 14 months old and will be 35 on Monday. I have decent control, but feel lucky to be complication free. I was so nervous to have a baby that I only ever wanted one. Now that I did it, I have days when I want another. My endo didn’t necessarily discourage me, but did say I could be pushing my luck by trying again. I think my main concerns are that my body won’t hold up due to the physical stress of a pregnancy, and that if one child gets diabetes, the sibling has a relatively high chance of getting it too. The thought of me passing on D to my son terrifies me, and I don’t know how I could handle it twice. Just wondering if anyone else feels like this about having more children.

I know you have to consider your own doctors advice. My team of endo and high risk obgyn said it would be very unusual if the child had T1D. It’s not like type 2 that is hereditary…an auto immune attack has to occur.

Don’t worry about spreading D to your child - as a mom with Type 1, the chances of your child being diagnosed with Type 1 is the same as a “normal” person! :slight_smile:

The risk for a child of a parent with type 1 diabetes is lower if it is the mother — rather than the father — who has diabetes. “If the father has it, the risk is about 1 in 10 (10 percent) that his child will develop type 1 diabetes — the same as the risk to a sibling of an affected child,” Dr. Warram says. On the other hand, if the mother has type 1 diabetes and is age 25 or younger when the child is born, the risk is reduced to 1 in 25 (4 percent) and if the mother is over age 25, the risk drops to 1 in 100 — virtually the same as the average American.

My wife is paranoid about the same things…but she also might have gestational diabetes. I am a type 1, she does not have either i dont think, but she is about to go in for normal testing shortly for several things in addition to high sugar. So we will see.

Lissybee, I told her what you said…she was concerned about having diabetes, and since I am type 1, she was concerned about our future child getting D. Thank you for your comment.

We just googled symptoms of Gest D and found http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gestational-diabetes/basics/symptoms/con-20014854 and this page both say once you get gestational diabetes you may have type 2 for life.

Can anyone comment on this? Im trying to calm her nerves before her appt.

Even though the chance of passing on diabetes is low, I still worry about it. Has anyone heard of TrialNet Pathway to Prevention study? It looks they can screen for antibodies in a person to see if diabetes is likely to occur.

Drummer4life - From my understanding, Gestational Diabetes is a risk factor for Type 2, but not a guarantee. I found the info below on this website: http://www.preventtype2.org/what-is-my-risk.php

Am I at greater risk if I had gestational diabetes?

Yes. If you were diagnosed with gestational diabetes when you were pregnant, you have a future risk for getting type 2 diabetes. If a woman has gestational diabetes, she has a 30 to 60 percent risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the next 10 to 20 years. Your baby also has a greater risk of getting type 2 diabetes.

So make sure you make healthy food choices and have appropriate physical activity when you are pregnant to protect you and your baby from the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And get tested for type 2 diabetes after your baby is born.

Jenpsu2 - I have! TrialNet is amazing and I would recommend it to anyone with concerns. Definitely call the location nearest you and they can answer any questions you have - they are all wonderful!

Lissybee- do you know someone who was screened?

I have the same fears. I’m currently pregnant with my 2nd and we’re almost definitely going to stop there. I wish I had banked the cord blood of my first but we didn’t have the money at the time. However, knowing this is our last chance to do it I’m actively shopping for the right cord blood bank this time. I don’t know if we’ll ever use it the cord blood but I’d hate to think that I wouldn’t have it if one or both kids get D and there is some sort of solution in the future using stem cells.