I was just wondering on what you guys did to get pregnant? Like did you do it on a certain day? is there vitamins or herbs that you can take to help conceive? Is it safe for a diabetic to become pregnant? Is there any other tips you ladies might have for me?
Hi Debra!
I just had my first child and can tell you that it is totally possible to have a healthy pregnancy as a T1 for both you and the baby to be. I would highly recommend for anyone trying to get pregnant and or that is already pregnant... to go on the Paradigm insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor. It helped me to keep my A1c's on track prior to conceiving (which increases chances of a healthy pregnancy and conception), and allowed me to go full term without having too large a baby (he was 7lbs 11oz)...
It was also recommended to me that I start prenatal vitamins prior to conceiving. I was on them for about 6 mos before and they say that the longer the better. (Perfect Prenatal by New Chapter is a great one).
As far as trying to conceive goes, tracking your cycle helps so that you know approximately when your more fertile days are. From there, it's all fun and practice practice practice. HAHA.
I wish you the best of luck!
Hi Debra. I'd talk to your doctors (OB/GYN & Endo) about whether it's safe for you to get pregnant and carry a baby to term. I think most women with type 1, when well controlled before conception and throughout conception, are fine to have kids. I've got two myself (I was dx at age 2). My daughters are 10 & 8, both born at 38 weeks. You could start taking prenatal vitamins before you conceive, but again, talk to your doctors.
Good luck!
Hi Debra,
I would keep your sugars at very good range and try to keep your A1C at around 6 . I was able to get pregnant this past April and my pregnancy so far is going very well as long I am able to keep my A1C and blood sugars at a very good level.
Debra,
I just got pregnant and I tried for about 3-4 months. For me it was all about relaxing and timing. Your body will take over. It helps to have your A1C lower for baby's sake but your eggs are seperate from your pancreas. Just eat healthy, exercise, and if you have a regular cycle it should be pretty easy to predict when you are ovulating. My doctor told me basically to be intimate with my husband every two days after 8 days past my period. Good Luck
Nicole
How long until you knew you that you were pregnant? Did things change for you in those first couple of weeks?
WHoops sorry, meant to direct this towards Nicole or anyone that had been pregnant before.
I'm a firm believer that you can't force pregnancy. Of course try for your a1c target and try to keep that control..but that's a good rule anytime.
If you're going to get pregnant, it will happen. I've never gone through the "trying to conceive" process nor have I started yet to try and hit a pregnancy target, but I have been pregnant twice without trying(I was using protection to boot).
I think a lot of the reason some women have so much trouble getting pregnant, is because they are so stressed about it. your body isn't going to want to get pregnant if you're stressing about it and calculating when to have sex. Be intimate with your boyfriend or husband and let it come naturally.
That's my 2cents, but you're more than welcome to toss it aside since I've yet to actually go through the process of carrying a baby to term with diabetes so this is really an outsider opinion!
Rose,
I am pretty regular so I knew there was a possibility like 4 days after I missed my period. I took a pregnancy test and sure enough...positive!
Katie has absolutely given the best advice here: talk with your endo and OB to talk about your specific case. They will help paint a realistic picture of a diabetic pregnancy for you and give you goals/targets to reach prior to conception. I think Batts also hit the nail on the head for when it comes time to actually "try to conceive" - relax! The first time around, I was so stressed and worried about everything and it took me 5 months before I was pregnant. The second time around, I was much more laid back about everything and thought it would happen when it happened. I got pregnant the first month off birth control!
I wouldn't say I'm stressed about the whole process or I'm not stressed about actually being pregnant, but I am definitely excited and can't wait for it to happen, do you think this has the same effect as being stressed?
As far as what it takes to get pregnant for a type 1 - it would be no different than trying to get pregnant for anyone else.
Smart plan of action is temping and charting. You can try www.fertilityfriend.com. This way you can figure out when you ovulate and you can time intercourse appropriatley.
However before you even go there - you should meet with your doctor and discuss with him pregnancy and the effects on your body and if it is safe for YOU. Usually they will want your A1c below 6 and will want to run tests to be sure everything is working as it should, eyes kidneys etc. I will say though that in this day and age type 1 women can and do have successful pregnancies.
Batts - you are right about many women getting stressed over trying to convieve. However I do want to point out that some diabetic women just like non diabetic women do have fertility issues at play. If someone does have a potential issue no amount of relaxing and not stressing will help them get pregnant. I am not saying that these women never acheive pregnancy - but they need to consult a doctor and rule out any issues. I had to throw this in here because Ive had friends stuggle with infertility and the worlds biggest annoyance for women who are struggling is being told that they " need to relax" - esp by other women who have no issues conceiving. I mean this in the most respectful way :)
[quote user="Sarah "]
Batts - you are right about many women getting stressed over trying to convieve. However I do want to point out that some diabetic women just like non diabetic women do have fertility issues at play. If someone does have a potential issue no amount of relaxing and not stressing will help them get pregnant. I am not saying that these women never acheive pregnancy - but they need to consult a doctor and rule out any issues. I had to throw this in here because Ive had friends stuggle with infertility and the worlds biggest annoyance for women who are struggling is being told that they " need to relax" - esp by other women who have no issues conceiving. I mean this in the most respectful way :)
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I'm in no way meaning to rule out that possibility. Regardless of your approach(fertility drugs, not trying, temp/charting, etc) to getting pregnant, every woman should see their doctor, discuss it and run the appropriate tests first; regardless of they are diabetic or not.
I'm just talking about cases where there is not a fertility issue and there is no evidence from tests to show the woman (and the husband) are unable to get pregnant.