Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia
Improving Outcomes for Diabetes in Pregnancy
Managing day-to-day blood sugar levels during pregnancy is very challenging for women with type 1 diabetes. Nonetheless even small improvements in day-today glucose control can have a large impact on newborn health outcomes. Mothers who spend an extra 100 minutes per day in the recommended target glucose range have babies who are less likely to be overweight, less likely to require neonatal intensive care unit admission and less likely to be born with low glucose levels. They also get to leave hospital 1-day sooner. The potential cost savings could help offset the costs of additional costs of new technologies such as continuous glucose monitoring and automated closed-loop insulin delivery. Automated closed-loop systems linking insulin delivery to minute-to-minute glucose levels may help more women to achieve stable glucose control more safely.
We've made a lot of progress with Diabetes outside of pregnancy but it’s very difficult with pregnancy. But even tiny improvements have a huge impact on the lives of newborns.