Pregnancy

Em’s Thoughts: In the last few years, a lot of positive stories have been published about successful T1D pregnancies with advice on how one can manage blood sugars, insulin, and food throughout pregnancy.  A great book on this topic is Balancing Pregnancy with Pre-existing Diabetes by Cheryl Alkon (a fellow Type 1 Diabetic) who summarizes her own experience, the experience of others, and current scientific research in a eloquent and easily readable format. As you can tell, I highly recommend this book!

After reading various forums on this, I’ve grouped advice together in the topics listed under “Pregnancy” on the menu at the top of the page.

Advice from DiabetesSisters.org: https://diabetessisters.org/pregnancy

Blogs by pregnant women with T1D:

Facebook groups:

  • Sugar Mommas: Sugar Mommas – San Francisco Bay Area Type 1 Diabetic Moms’ Group

Interesting articles:

Apps:

Quick Reference: Daily nutritional recommendations for pregnant women (Note this is just a starting point I took from a pregnancy food chart given to me by a nutritionist.  Recommendations maybe different depending on your weight, etc). Example foods below are equivalent to 1 serving of that food group (I tried to list these in order of calorie/carb content, i.e. foods at the beginning of each food group list generally have the lowest calorie/carb content).  Click here for additional food ideas:

  • Omega-3’s-DHA vs EPA: For pregnancy, DHA seems to be the more important “Omega-3” however, check with your MD or Nutritionist to confirm.
  • Milk/Dairy: at least 3 servings (estimated total carb 36g): Major source of protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamins B12 and D
    • 1 cup milk (any level of fat) or plain yogurt
    • 1 cup low-fat flavored yogurt
    • 1.5 oz cheese (2 slices)
    • 1.5 cups (3-4 scoops) cottage cheese, frozen yogurt, ice cream
  • Meat/Protein: at least 2 servings (1 serving of protein = 12-15g): Major source of protein, iron, niacin, thiamin, vitamins B6 and B12, folic acid, and zinc
    • 3 oz fish, chicken, turkey, ham, lean: veal, beef, lamb, pork
    • 2 eggs
    • 2 frankfurters, 3 slices lunch meat
    • 1/2 cup nuts (8g-12g carb)
    • 4 Tbsp peanut butter (15g carb)
    • 1 cup: dried peas, beans, lentils cooked (Note: these may have ~30g carb)
  • Vegetables: at least 3 servings (estimated total carb 18g for lower carb choices, 45g higher carb choices): Major source of vitamins A and C, folic acid
    • 1 cup raw cabbage, lettuce, green salad; 1/2 cup bok choy, broccoli, carrots, green beans, chili peppers, greens, spinach, zucchini, vegetable juices, tomato sauce (~6g carb)
    • 1/2 cup peas, corn, sweet potato; 1 cup vegetable soup (~15g carb)
  • Fruit: at least 2 servings (estimated total carb 30g): Major source of vitamins A and C, folic acid
    • 1/2 Avocado: Note 1 avocado can contain 15-17g carbohydrates and 10-14g fiber. I’ve read a recommendation to not count carbohydrates for foods with 3g or more fiber. You may need to experiment with figuring out the right amount of insulin to take (e.g. instead of taking insulin for 15g carb, you could subtract 7g–assuming 10g fiber – 3g fiber = 7g carb that doesn’t need to be counted–and take insulin for 8g of carb)
    • 1/2 cup berries, cantaloupe; 3/4 cup fruit juice; 2 apricots, plums; 1 medium peach, orange; 1/2 grapefruit (~15g carb)
  • Breads: at least 7 servings (estimated total carb 105g) Major source of thiamin, niacin, iron, and zinc
  • General supplements: Prenatal vitamin with DHA (to help fetal brain development), Fish Oil (has DHA), 1000 mg Sea Algae (omega 3 supplement)
  • Supplements to prevent constipation:
    • Magnesium (200 mg)
    • Psyllium for soluble fiber
    • Konsyl or Metamucil-plain

Leave a comment