INTRODUCTION

My name is Bethany. I’m 30 years old and I have had Type 1 diabetes since I was 3. A few months ago, my husband and I decided we were ready to start a family. This is a big step in anyone’s life, but as a diabetic there were a number of additional factors to consider: my ability to tightly control my diabetes during pregnancy (especially during morning sickness), my health as a pregnant woman, the viability of the baby (i.e. potential for miscarriage), and the ultimate safety and health of my baby! Having heard many successful stories about diabetes and pregnancy, we were very optimistic, and also quite unwilling to let diabetes stand in the way of creating a child. With the go-ahead from my endocrinologist, we decided to try…and within a very short while I was pregnant!

Recently a friend of mine encouraged me to start a blog about my pregnancy in the hopes that other women considering pregnancy could have some questions answered and be encouraged that a healthy pregnancy IS possible as a diabetic! Of course, there is still the possibility that I may encounter some bumps and complications along the way, but this is true of ANY women – not just diabetic women. If you are a diabetic woman wondering if pregnancy is right for you, I hope my story can help you to figure that out.

Feel free to post questions in the comment section of the blog posts or email me (link in my profile)! Even if you have personal questions – give me a try, I might surprise you. If I’m not comfortable answering, I’ll let you know but I won’t hold it against you! I understand that diabetes and pregnancy is a tricky and sensitive subject, and if I can help clarify anything for anyone…especially to put your mind at ease about something…then I really want to be able to do that!

I do have to add one disclaimer, though. It is VERY important to note that both pregnancy and diabetes can differ significantly from one woman to the next. As such, my experience as a pregnant diabetic may be very different from yours. Please take my stories and comments (as well as any email responses from me) as an example only and NOT as medical advice. If you are considering becoming pregnant, or if you are already pregnant, please discuss your specific situation with your doctor.

As I write this, I am currently 21 weeks pregnant. Instead of bringing you into my story half-way through, I’d like to first bring you up-to-speed on the last few months. Following are a number of posts that summarize some of the more notable events during weeks 1 to 20 of my pregnancy. Once we’re caught up, I’ll try to post every week or two to keep you updated. I hope you enjoy following along!