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Pre-Pregnancy Diabetes Boosts Risk for Birth Defects

Your unborn child did not have any say or opinion on whether or not you should have had binged on that yummy chocolate cake. Neither did he or she have any say when you decided to follow it up with a bagful of cookies on most days. And neither does he or she have a say when your sweet tooth makes you prone to diabetes and puts the child at a greater risk of developing at least one birth deformity. Yet, the consequences of your actions are suffered by not only you but also your child.

A new study conducted by a leading medical institute in America has found the link between pre-pregnancy diabetes, especially type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and its possible defective effects on your newly born.

We already know how gestational diabetes can turn childbirth into a life risking proposition for both the mother and the child. However, if you are in the know about your diabetic condition before pregnancy, it is all the more imperative that you embrace a healthier lifestyle. If not for yourself, then at least for your unborn baby.

As a diabetic patient, you may have to deal with devastating effects on you physically such as heart disease, kidney trouble, sleep disorders, severe depression, and sexual dysfunction. But not keeping it under control could have serious health repercussions on your baby, like defects of the brain, kidney, spine, limbs, heart, and stomach.

This also highlights the need for utmost prenatal care and counseling. Not just for mothers diagnosed with diabetes but also for those who are battling the problem of obesity. Excessive fat is also a precursor to gestational diabetes and other related health problems that can make child birth a complicated process.

To prevent the prospect of harming your yet to be born baby, it is necessary that you consider lifestyle changes seriously, including quitting smoking, alcohol, drug and substance abuse, and lastly, reducing the number of steaming hot cuppas of coffee and tea. If possible take extra care to avoid an unplanned pregnancy. Include eating sensibly as top priority on your list of to-dos. Further, if you managed to stick to it long enough to understand its wonderful advantages, do not spoil your efforts with a big chunk of chocolate cake.

Consider this an opportunity to make an informed decision about you and your baby’s health with the help of your health care professional.

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