Want to conceive but need to get A1C down

Find Community
1

Help! I am a total wimp when it comes to self-control, and I really want some help with accountability so that I can get my A1C nice and low before conceiving again. And I want another baby soon! :)

I did fairly well my first pregnancy- A1C's 7.6, 5.9, and 6.2. That first 7.6 made me nervous about the health of my baby so I gave in to the doctor wanting to induce, which ended in a C-section (the last thing I wanted). The baby was in the NICU for 1 weeks due to an unknown infection, but was otherwise healthy- 20 inches long, 7.0 lbs (about 1 lb. smaller than estimated on ultrasound), at 39weeks, 5days gestation.

I feel that if my A1C is excellent at conception and throughout pregnancy, I will have more confidence that the baby will be fine- better even- if I go into labor naturally and give birth vaginally.

Please share your experiences and especially please let me know if you can be a strict accountability partner with me (and I will be yours too if you want) to help me be confident in my decision to refuse induction and to attempt a VBAC.

Thank you so much!!!

2

Don't worry about how your baby will be born.  You're not even pregnant yet! =)  

First step is to have your diabetes in as good of shape as possible.  Sounds like your first pregnancy was healthy so there is no reason your second won't be.  You can deal with pregancy and birth issues as they come up.

The goal of "lowering your A1c" is big and hard to get your arms around.  What's worked best for me is to have a low target number while have few hypoglycemias as much as possible.  Work with your doctor to find a target that's safe.  Especially since you have a young child that you take care of.  

When pregnant I aimed for 80 because non-diabetic women have blood sugars in the 60 - 80 range.  In the years since I don't like taking the time to maintain that tight of control and I aim for 100 and rarely have lows.  

Try this for a couple months and assess your numbers based on your A1c and the % of tests that are within your target range (I use +/- 20, so I like to see about 80% of my tests between 80 - 120).