Hi everyone, I am wondering about the safety of Omnipod and pregnancy, in particular the use of the wireless frequency and placement upon the stomach. I asked the customer service person when I last called and she said she had no info and to try googling it, that is how I ended up here. I fully understand that uncontrolled blood sugars are very damaging in pregnancy and managing blood sugar is the primary concern. But as we now know, many wireless frequencies are damaging to the brain of growing children which is why young children should not use cell phone regularly, I was wondering if the same line of thinking should be applied to developing fetuses. Any information or direction would be greatly appreciated. Don't get me wrong, I'm an Omnipod fan, I cannot wear the other kind because of tubing issues. I now only wear my Omnipod on my arms, I am trying it on my leg, don't particularly like it there but will continue to wear it anyway to protect my unborn child. Thanks for any info or opinions.
So I can’t comment on any scientific studies, but I wore my pod on my stomach for both my pregnancies and never thought about it. I do wonder now that you brought this up. It will be interesting to see what others think.
The radio signal is extremely weak. I don't think there should be any concern. In comparison, the cell phone concerns are about radio signals that are thousands times more strong than the one used in the Omnipod.
What might be interesting is how the baby will react in the last trimester if your pod starts beeping...
when I started on omnipod, it was one of my questions. I know that my pump coordinator had said that she has several omnipod cases where the pregnacy went smoothly. however I can't answer to wearing it on the stomach.
I second the signal being very weak--we can't be very far away from the PDM. I am also pregnant (22 weeks) and have been continuously wearing the pod on my stomach and back. Of all the problems this baby is fighting regarding me being a diabetic (and hypothyroidism), a weak frequency is the least of my concerns! I am not trying to diminish your concerns, but I did a fair amount of research into the wearability of the pod during pregnancy and have found nothing of concern that would stop me from doing so. I have never had good insulin absorption on my arms, so I am stuck using my stomach and back.
Best of luck to you!
I wore the Omnipod through two pregnancies. Is that what’s wrong with my kids? =P Just kidding. Like others have said, the signal is so weak that I think there are far greater risks to your growing child. None of my medical team ever expressed any concern. I think the pod has been fully vetted. The biggest problem with podding throughout a pregnancy is the limited reservoir volume - I was burning through 200u in 30 hours. You have to make sure your prescription accounts for frequent site changes.
Thanks for answering everyone. When you are pregnant you worry about all sorts of stuff. I have already been thru one pregnancy although I did not wear a pump then but this time I wanted to be a bit more proactive and got on the Omnipod before I got pregnant. Things are going very well but I just wanted to get everyones thoughts on the wireless waves. I know it's a pretty weak signal but one can never be too careful. I do wonder if that will be a raised concern with the 2nd generation Omnipod which is suppose to have a much stronger signals. And thanks for the tip about getting my RX changed since I will be using more insulin as I progress.