One in 20 Kiwi women have diabetes during pregnancy

DIABETES NEW ZEALAND MEDIA RELEASE
12th November 2012
Help our smallest kiwis stay sweet as
Diabetes Awareness Week 13-19 November

One in 20 Kiwi women have diabetes during pregnancy.*

“With thousands of women affected each year, we wanted to shine a light on what is one of New Zealand’s most serious maternal health issues” says Chris Baty, Diabetes NZ President.

Diabetes during pregnancy is serious - if not well managed, it can put both the health of the mother and her baby at risk.

“By raising awareness we can encourage women affected to seek the treatment and support they need to have a healthy pregnancy.

“This is really important because although diabetes during pregnancy is serious, the good news is that most women can have a healthy pregnancy by working with their health care team” says Chris.

High blood glucose levels in the mother around the time of conception and early pregnancy can increase a baby’s risk of developing abnormalities to the heart, spine and kidneys, and can increase the chance of miscarriage.

If blood glucose levels are high during later pregnancy the baby has more chance of:

• Becoming very large - this can cause problems during delivery
• Becoming very small
• Being still born
• Developing very low blood glucose levels immediately following birth

Furthermore, a woman who has had gestational diabetes during pregnancy has a significantly increased risk (50-60%) of developing Type 2 diabetes some time in the future.

To find more information on diabetes and pregnancy visit www.diabetes.org.nz

* This includes pre-pregnancy diabetes (i.e. Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes) and women who have other issues with blood glucose levels (gestational diabetes) while pregnant.

ENDS

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