I asked this question in the parents of type 1 kids group but I want to get some feedback here as well. We are considering rolling the dice again with a second child....but I have some concerns as I am a type 1 diabetic and have been for 23 years now...; 1: I am 34 soon to be 35 so the age scares me, 2: what is the chance that my kids could get type 1 as well? My daughter is almost 2. I test her randomly but it is always in the back of my mind....(is there a screening to do ?) 3: does anybody know anything about type 1 being linked to either down syndrome or autism? Someone said that if you a type 1 mom your risks for having a child with either neurological (autism, ADHD...etc.) and chromosomal is higher? Please give me some feedback !
My baby girl was born via c-section at 37 weeks at 8 1/2lbs. She never had a low blood sugar only a little jaundice. She is a bright, funny, and active toddler. My bloodsugars were monitored by a pump and cgm. I had a great team of endocronolgist, high risk pregancy specialist, and my OB. Things were hard but very healthy. I maintained a 6% A1C throughout (even though I gained 73lbs)!
I had my first baby a couple of months after my 37th bday, 39 weeks, planned induction, unplanned c-section 10 pounds 13oz.
I believe that the chances are pretty low for your kids to get it, but there is a chance nonetheless. I also think about my son possibly getting diabetes all of the time but, I try not to obsess about it because thinking about that will make me crazy.
Have you asked your doctors about the chances and risks? Those are really the best people to ask about things like this. You have a child already, were these things you didn't think about before she was born? Or is it because you are a couple of years older now? As you know there are so many tests you take so you know exactly what is going on to help you prepare for all sorts of things. I would definitely talk to the High Risk OB or your Endo to get better insight for sure, if this is something that is really concerning you.
Oh I forgot to mention that TrialNet.org has a simple blood test for relatives of people with type 1 diabetes may detect autoantibodies that show an increased risk years before symptoms appear.
The chance of your child devleoping type 1 are actually really low, for example my son has only a 2% chance. But the reality is that someone makes up that statistic and it could be my son who is one of the unlucky 2%. So you have to make peace with the fact that it is possible, though unlikely.
My endocrinologist told me that type 1 diabetic moms have higher rates of having children with Down's Syndrome. But your question prompted me to look online for articles. This one states that infants born to type 1 moms do not have a higher rate of Down's. But it says that type 1 moms are more likely to have a child with other birth defects, especially if they have badly controlled glucose levels and don't take folic acid when pregnant.
Thanks you two!!!! so much information out there (which isn't always a calming agent) LOL. My high risk specialist said that she isn't concerned with my age, she gave me that I have 1 in 270 chance of having a down syndrome baby.... I would much rather that number be higher.... but I guess anyone can get type 1 I mean I got it and there was no one in my family with it.... I will ask my high risk specialist and research the trial net... maybe by the time my kid/kids are older there will be more preventative information out there.
This was my mantra when I was pregnant (I had Reed at 27 years old)
"If you are a woman with type 1 diabetes and your child was born before you were 25, your child's risk is 1 in 25; if your child was born after you turned 25, your child's risk is 1 in 100."
As for the higher chances of getting other disorders…I have never heard of it. I have no idea as to the validity of it…but here's my 2 cents: If you are diabetic you have a higher chance of EVERYTHING (or so it seems by all the warnings and such). I try not to focus on that. I focus on my control and being a non-diabetic as possible in terms of my numbers. I get a lot of remarks from medical professionals that my test results are better than someone without the disease. I take a lot of solace in it!
I know there is some sort of test out there to test for either a gene or something that is required to become a T1D. It was in the mid-90's but my mom had us all tested. I was 'questionable'. Whatever that means… my oldest brother definitely has the gene and my middle brother does not. Neither of them has diabetes :) I wish I remembered more about this test!
Thanks Rebekah.... I believe my daughter has the gene but what kind of crazy will that do to me if I find out she is positive? What if I just monitor her BS every now and again and keep her as healthy as possible...She has no refined sugar (try to keep her pancreas producing a lower amount instead of a high need to dump) and I pray for her health and well being every day. Thank you all :)
I was diagnosed T1D at age 25, and I hope and pray my son doesn’t have the same fate as me. In my family we have had one person with T1D each generation on my mom’s side of the family and we were all diagnosed after 21.
I contacted trial net and they gave me all the info. I am going to wait until she is about 4 before I test her for the auto antibodies and I will have another one as well by then.