Pregnancy and Diabetes: Oil and Water?

Pregnancy and diabetes are two words that just don’t seem to go well together. Most women, when planning a pregnancy, think about things like vitamins, possible weight gain, morning sickness, food cravings, etc. For a diabetic, planning for and trying to conceive comes with a whole set of challenges that most women never have to think about.

For me, I’ve spent lots of time figuring out my body’s reaction to certain foods, so that I can take the right amount of insulin. I’m a reformed SWAGer (SWAG = Scientific, Wild-Assed Guess), who learned that those SWAGs were WAY off. Measuring food, eating only the serving size on the label, and bolusing BEFORE I eat are three ways I've gotten my A1c down to a level where I could actually start trying to conceive. Another is wearing a CGM. I used a Minimed CGM 1.5 years. It helped me tweak my basals, alerted me to lows (I have severe hypo-unawareness) and highs, and provided me with tons of data to better manage my diabetes.

Now, I’ve moved over to Dexcom. After a somewhat rocky beginning, the amazing folks at DexCom worked with me so that I could have affordable CGM coverage throughout my pregnancy, regardless of what my insurance will (or won’t) pay for. Fortunately, Aetna stepped up and is paying for my CGM and supplies at 85%.

So, with all my ducks in a row, we started trying to conceive. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as we were all led to believe in high school. For over a year, we’ve been trying, but each month we’ve had to deal with the reality that it just didn’t happen. Does this mean that maybe I’m not meant to have children? Am I being irresponsible and selfish for wanting a baby when my own body makes it risky? Not only am I diabetic, I’m also hypertensive and 35 years old. Taken alone, each of those conditions make for a high-risk pregnancy; together they’re . . . well, I don’t even know . . . a trifecta of scary?

I asked myself these questions countless times over the past year. The conclusion I came to was the only one I could live with: I will have a child. If I’m lucky enough to conceive, then my body will not be my own during the pregnancy. I will eat the same foods everyday (the ones that give me predictable blood sugar results). I will not work long hours, I will stress less, and I will get more sleep. I will do whatever I have to do to grow a healthy baby. I owe that to the child, my husband, and myself.

But, if I’m not able to conceive, my husband and I will adopt. There are plenty of children out there who need a loving home. We can and will provide that – just ask our all-too-spoiled pets.