Diabetes mellitus in pregnancy. Elements of management and complications, from preconception to postnatal period

Abstract

In the past few years, an alarming increase in the number of patients with obesity and diabetes (closely related to obesity) has been recorded worldwide. As a consequence, the number of patients able to reproduce who suffer from diabetes has increased. This translates into a steadily grow­ing number of patients with type 2 diabetes diagnosed pre­con­cep­tually and of patients with gestational dia­betes. Furthermore, the age of procreation has also in­­creased. During pregnancy, patients with diabetes are ex­posed to a greater risk of complications, and given the em­bryo­toxic effect and the metabolic instability induced by hyper­gly­ce­mia, this also applies for the unborn baby. The careful sur­veil­lance offered by a multidisciplinary team, from pre­con­ception to the postnatal period, designed for each pa­tient’s needs, helps them to have a positive experience of preg­nancy.