Anybody go into labor naturally with T1D?

yes @MariaM2 we’d love an update.

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Well, thanks for thinking of me!! I was scheduled for an ECV but chickened out due to the (albeit low) risks of the procedure. It was explained to me that as a First-timer breech vaginal delivery was not as safe as a c-section for the baby. If it was my third baby or something (and I had a “proven pelvis” already) I probably would have attempted breech vaginal delivery… we scheduled a section at 40+2 to give her all the chances to turn on her own… I went into labor at 39+4. She did not turn and I had a section at 39+5. Everything went well. She weighed 6lb 11oz, had a 9 on the apgar and no blood sugar or other issues… I wrote about all of it in great detail at walkthedragon88.blogspot.com

She is 3.5 weeks old now and we are. Both doing great!

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Good luck with everything!! Very excited for you :slight_smile:

Thanks for the update.

So glad to hear everything went well and that you and baby are doing good! She’s precious :slight_smile:

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All things considered, I personally would not put my baby at risk by attempting a breech vaginal delivery. NSTs could all look great to date, but they tell you nothing about the stress your baby will experience during a breech vaginal delivery.

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My doctor mentioned that it is harder to deliver a smaller baby breech than a larger one? Have you ever heard of that?

Yes. What happens during a breech delivery is that the cervix enlarges to accommodate the larger circumference of the baby’s body, then closes down around the much smaller neck, leaving a much larger head behind above the cervix. With a larger baby, the cervix is forced open wider, increasing the chances that it will not close down quite as much after the body is delivered, thus increasing the chances that the head will be able to be delivered (with a great deal of difficulty which almost always necessitates utilizing a suction device and forceps. And even then, you wind up having a crash C-section a lot of the time because the cervix simply will not widen a second time.) Once you’ve observed even one breech delivery and have seen how much both the mother and (especially) the baby endure, you’d never elect to try a vaginal birth with a breech presentation. IMO, not for a millisecond worth the risk.

Also, after having observed a number of failed ECVs (stopped by the mothers because it became too painful) there’s no way I’d opt for that procedure. If memory serves, the few “successful” ECVs I’ve seen were “temporary” because the babies all reverted to the breech position before delivery.

Thank you so much for the detailed response! You have made me feel even more confident thst I did the safest thing having a c-section instead of trying ECV or vaginal breech. I am almost 4 weeks post-partum and feeling almost 100% normal now… the first couple of weeks of recovery were less than ideal but at least the baby thrived from the beginning and had no complications

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How do you keep your A1C so controlled? I find that to be very difficult.

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Low carb and dexcom . Emphasis on the low carb… if you read Dr. Bernstein’s “the diabetes solution” it will likely be helpful. As with anything, you can tailor his advice for your situation… I went lc about 10 months before pregnancy. I remain there 3 months after pregnancy with an A1C in the 5s and I am never going back .

Thank you very much, I will read. Any tips you may have are welcomed. My last A1C was 7.6, need it much lower before I become pregnant.

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Sorry it’s taken so long to respond! I haven’t been on this site for a while, but logged in recently to research an insulin pump upgrade. That brings me to how I controlled my numbers during pregnancy so tightly…couldn’t have done it without my insulin pump and CGM! I tried to eat healthy, but was not perfect by any stretch. I was very diligent about monitoring blood sugars throughout the day and night and making sure I dosed to keep in my ideal range (80-120) as much as possible. Toward the end of my pregnancy those numbers became harder to control and went up to 5.6-5.9 A1C range, and have kind of stayed there since. Best of luck!

It’s been a while since I’ve been on this site, but I wanted to add an update in case anybody is still following, or comes late to the post and wants to know my outcome. Our son (Jace) is now a rambunctious 14.5 month-old, so this is long overdue :slight_smile:

Here’s how things ended up going with his birth…
At 39w+6 & 40w+0 (two consecutive days) I was having minor contractions which resulted in irregular heart patterns for my son on the non stress test. We went into the hospital later that day (40 weeks exactly) and they started cervix softening that evening. After about 13 hours my water broke, and they started induction with Pitocin. After this, my son’s irregular heart rate patterns started again during contractions. They stopped Pitocin for a couple hours until his heart rate looked normal, then started a second time. Again, on the Pitocin, his heart was showing distress with each contraction. They had me prepped for a C-section at that point, but I wasn’t ready to give up yet so they reluctantly started me on Pitocin a 3rd time per my request. After another hour or two, and the irregular heartbeats happening again, I decided to do what I felt was best for my son and have the section. I never dilated past 2 - 3 centimeters, so continuing to put him through the stress of the induction for possibly days seemed dangerous and unwise. Plus, I chose to have no pain meds and the start-stop-start-stop-start was killing my resolve and my spirit. At the end of the day the c-section wasn’t so bad, and my son was born a healthy 7 lbs. 3.5oz, 20" via C-section at 40w+1, so all worked out!!! It wouldn’t have been my first choice of outcomes, but I am just grateful that we both made it through happy and healthy. My biggest advice to you would be to fight for a full-term pregnancy as long as mommy and baby are healthy, but be open to all possible outcomes and know that as long as everyone is ok that’s all that really matters.

Couple things to add about management during and after labor/birth—

  • I was able to self manage with my pump at the hospital
  • as soon as I started Pitocin my BGs started dropping, so even though they weren’t supposed to, the nurses let me eat/drink small amounts as needed to treat lows
  • immediately after birth, and in the weeks to follow, insulin requirements went down significantly (probably by half?) so multiple self-adjustments were needed to get BG regulated after the birth
  • the C-section had no interference with breastfeeding! In fact, we breastfed for 13 months (this is not diabetes-specific, but was a concern of mine with the possibility of a c-section birth so I wanted to share)
  • after my son was weaned, my insulin requirements went back up a little so that’s something else to keep an eye on when the time comes

Best of luck!!!

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