>My wife (a Type I diabetic since age 12) and I have recently been given
>the thumbs up from her physician to conceive.  Her ha1c is in the 7 range
>and she keeps tight control of her BG by testing 5-6 times daily and
>regulating with ultra-lente and regular.  We’re thrilled to be able to go
>ahead, but still experience a bit of trepidation regarding this big step.
>Can anyone out there provide some first-hand experience on diabetes and
>childbirth?  Any response is greatly appreciated.  In particular, we’re
>interested in how successful (i.e. rigid) you may have been in keeping
>your BG under tight control.  Even now (not being pregnant) it’s a
>struggle for us, and on occasion, her BG can (for a short time) jump into
>the 200+ range.  By the way, we’re new to this internet thing, but think
>the misc.health.diabetes group is a wonderful source of
>information/support.  Thanks in advance for any feedback.  

Wgaii,

We have two children, ages 2 and 4.  My wife has been Type I
for 25 years, I am not.  I highly recommend having children. It
was the scarriest time in my life, and my wife’s too, I think,
but I have lived more life in the last 5 years than in the
preceeding 30.

We had what I think is the best care in the world at Brigham &
Women’s Hospital in Boston.  I recommend you try to take care
of business at a good hospital rather than in some out-of-the-way
place because the medical technical challenges are great.

Our *team* of physician was outstanding.  They were all over my
wife like bees on a honeycomb — it was great.  I feel it’s important
to have physicians who specialize in high risk pregnancies because
there’s so much info and experience that a non-specialist will
not have.  I still can’t believe how many person-hours of Dr’s
they spent on her, and how many different specialists she saw.
Cost the insurance co. a bundle.

Our first son is physically perfect.  He was 6 weeks premature.
Spent 4-5 days in the natal intensive care unit (NICU).  Wife
was toxemic.  C-sect.  Very common.  The experience was so
nerve-wracking, anguishing, and traumatic that a year later,
we decided to do it again.

Our second son was 4 weeks premature.  We knew he had complete
congenital heart block before birth.  Several weeks in NICU.
He’ll have to wear a pace-maker when he gets older and avoid
rough contact sports, but otherwise his life will be normal.  

They told us beforehand that it would be hard to control the BG.
We thought, Hey, she knows how to control, she’s good; wife’s no
tyro at this you know.  We didn’t fully appreciate what the Dr’s
were telling us.

In the first and third trimesters of both pregnancies, the BGs
were basically out of control despite *very* rigorous efforts.  
I forget how many trips to the ER for hypo reactions we made,
and I don’t care to remember.

The reactions were apparently caused by nothing in particular.  
Her body just decided to secrete some hormones without telling
us first, and wham. The second trimester is a honeymoon, a
vacation.  (God designed it that way so that the parents
wouldn’t actually be killed during gestation, so that they
would survive for the third trimester’s festivities.)

She eventually started testing BG every few hours.  One time
in the Joselyn they stuck her every hour with the big mother
lancets — the ones where they take a vial of blood.  I thought
that the phlebotomist was, in fact, a vampire in disguise.

Turns out that the vampire had misunderstood the Dr’s instructions.
("No, no you fool, I said ONE vial every THREE hours, not THREE
vials every ONE hour.")  This story isn’t hyperbolic.  The Dr
couldn’t apologise enough to my wife.  I had never seen a
humble Dr before, and I expect I never will again.

During the first and last trimesters, I would set my alarm
clock every hour during the night to check if my wife was
sweating.  Also, she would test in the middle of the night
regularly.  We caught quite a few this way.

The final weeks were horrible for her, in the hospital most of
the time.  Life-threatening situation for her, Dr’s had to be
real careful and pay attention all the time.  After the second
son, the Dr. advised us not to do this again.

I don’t mean to imply that the odds are against you.  They’re
NOT.  We were told most babies born to diabetic mothers
at B&W were perfect.  The odds are really very good for a
normal baby.  Whatever you do, DO NOT despair because of this
story.  I do *not* mean to scare anyone.

I *do* mean to convey that it’s a tricky business and you have to
be diligent, seek expert care, and prepare for an arduous time.
It’s like flying a large aircraft (not really, but that’s all I
could think of) in that it is technically difficult, requires
diligence, careful attention, and skilled technical support,
but it can, and usually is done *very* successfully.

If we were where we were 5 years ago and know what we now know,
I would still have two more kids.  I can’t really remember all
the hard times anymore — I just remember the good ones — and
anyway, it wouldn’t matter how hard the hard times were, it
would still be worth it.

Good luck.

Dan

———————

Dan Wilkening
dewilken…@tasc.com