Diabetes and Pregnancy.

Poor glycaemic control in early pregnancy is associated with increased risk of major congenital abnormality. Diabetes has a significant impact throughout the different stages of pregnancy, raising important psychological issues that need to be addressed in diabetes care. In the early stage, women with established diabetes may experience increased stress related to their worries about possible birth defects that may interfere with conception. Diabetic women who are pregnant are faced with increasing demands and scrutiny regarding fetal development, managing their diabetes as it responds to the pregnancy and increased medical management. In gestational diabetes, women are confronted with a serious health problem that may involve insulin therapy and elicit anxieties regarding the impact of diabetes on the health of the unborn child and the mother. This chapter highlights some of the issues involved in pregnancy in diabetes, focusing on women with pre-existing diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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