INTRODUCTION: Diabetes mellitus (DM) in pregnancy produces adverse outcomes with significant human and economic costs. Potential lifetime cost savings of preventative preconception counseling for women with diabetes may reach $4.3 billion (U.S.) (Peterson et al, 2015). What opportunity exists to impact glycemic control before, and during, pregnancy by effective preconception diabetes education for adolescent women? This study assessed the current extent of preconception DM-related reproductive risk education to better inform the opportunity for an intervention. METHODS: We reviewed the electronic medical records (EMR) of females (N=70), ages 16-19, seen in the Pediatric Endocrinology clinic (2013-2016) and diagnosed with type 1 DM, type 2 DM, or insulin resistance. Any reproductive risks education documentation by providers, nursing or educators within Pediatric Endocrinology, or within consults to Nutrition or Obstetrics and Gynecology was accepted. RESULTS: According to EMR documentation, patient education for non-reproductive medical needs and complications of DM were consistently present in this population: 95.7% of patients received general education with at least 4/8 components. However, documented education regarding DM reproductive risks occurred for only 18.5% of the same patients while contraceptive use discussion occurred for 20%. CONCLUSION: The potential benefits of upstream, or preconception, education may include achieving recommended glucose control preceding and during pregnancy with fewer downstream maternal and fetal adverse outcomes. Although limited by the single site, retrospective design and the unknown rate of reproductive education documentation failure, our findings reveal a performance gap of potential downstream medical significance. Recognizing this deficiency provides an opportunity for a population-based intervention to improve health outcomes.
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