How Diabetes Can Affect You and Your Baby

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How Diabetes Can Affect You and Your Baby
Source: National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases,
National Institutes of Health. diabetes.niddk.nih.gov
High blood glucose levels before and during pregnancy can:
worsen your long-term diabetes complications, such as vision problems, heart disease, and kidney disease
increase the chance of problems for your baby, such as being born too early, weighing too much or too little, and having low blood glucose or other health problems at birth
increase the risk of your baby having birth defects
increase the risk of losing your baby through miscarriage or stillbirth
However, research has shown that when women with diabetes keep blood glucose levels under control before and during pregnancy, the risk of birth defects is about the same as in babies born to women who don’t have diabetes.
Glucose in a pregnant woman’s blood passes through to the baby. If your blood glucose level is too high during pregnancy, so is your baby’s glucose level before birth.
Glucose
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