Diabetes care areas - click here to navigate to care area page
- Cardiovascular care
- Children and young people
- Diagnosis and continuing care
- Education
- Emotional and psychological support
- End of life
- Equality in diabetes
- Prevention and risk management
- Eye services
- Footcare
- Emergency and inpatient
- Kidney care
- Mental health and learning difficulties
- Neuropathy care
- Pregnancy
- Services for older people
- User involvement
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The team does not and cannot offer clinical advice. If you have any urgent medical enquiries we urge you to contact your GP, or NHS Direct at www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk or by calling 0845 4647. In an emergency call 999
Awareness: Planning Pregnancy - NO
Discuss the importance of planning pregnancy and the risks of an unplanned pregnancy.
- A detailed discussion of the issues surrounding diabetes and pregnancy is undertaken during preconception care when the woman is thinking about stopping contraception and becoming pregnant.
- However, all women need to have sufficient knowledge to be motivated to seek preconception advice.
- They need to be advised that by accessing preconception care they reduce their risk of having a baby with a malformation and maximize their chances of having a healthy pregnancy and baby.
- Specific Information regarding congenital abnormality rates (1% in the background population and 2-3% in women with diabetes) may be helpful:
- It is a quantifiable risk that women can understand.
- The risk can be reduced through good glucose control, the prescription of folic acid 5mg/day and by changing to medication that is safe in pregnancy.
- An understanding that abnormalities occur in the first weeks of pregnancy re-enforces the need to have care before pregnancy.
- Provision of appropriate literature to take away - e.g. SAFER leaflet (PDF 591KB)
