New study findings from T1D Exchange were presented at ADA’s 74th Scientific Sessions showing that women with type 1 diabetes (T1D) had improved glycemic control during pregnancy however their newborns still required admission and, in many cases, extended stays in intensive care units (ICU).
This study, funded by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, addresses an important gap where, historically, there has been limited data both on pregnancy and live births in women with T1D. The research presented focuses on women with T1D who were pregnant, while also examining delivery and post-partum outcomes of those who had given birth in the past year.
Results showed that HbA1c was lower in pregnant women when compared to women who were not pregnant. Additionally, study data revealed that duration of NICU stays is far longer for new mothers with T1D. 43% of the newborns in this study were admitted to the NICU, and 41% of that subgroup stayed for longer than one week. Birth weights in this population proved to be higher than the national average of babies delivered at term.
Additional conclusions showed that pump use and total insulin dose was higher in pregnant women between 26-45, and that more pregnant women overall are using CGM devices.
“While it is encouraging that the pregnant women demonstrated good glycemic control, it is quite concerning to see the high proportion of infants who required admittance to a Newborn Intensive Care Unit, especially considering that many required such extended stays. More research is needed in pregnancy among women with T1D so that we can help reduce complications of both the mothers and infants,” said lead author Stephanie N. DuBose, Biostatistician and Epidemiologist at the Jaeb Center for Health Research.
Pregnancy has long been a topic of discussion in both the research world and the diabetes online community. T1D Exchange and Glu have been successfully opening up lines of communication between people living with T1D, doctors, and researchers in order to efficiently address crucial needs and concerns.
Recently, Regina Shirley, creator of Serving Up Diabetes and Glu contributor wrote “Things Need to Change for All Women with T1D: The Purple Hippo in the Room.” In it she says, “It is understood that there are many reasons why a woman with T1D is at high-risk for all sorts of complications to both herself and the baby, but there needs to be better support and education around how to prevent those things from happening, and how to emotionally deal with them if they do.”
View the full poster from the ADA’s 74th Scientific Sessions.
Visit t1dexchange.org for more information about T1D Exchange.
Visit helmsleytrust.org for more information about The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
Visit unitio.org for more information about Unitio.
About T1D Exchange
T1D Exchange was founded on the premise that finding faster, better therapies for type 1 diabetes (T1D) requires a research model as multi-faceted as the disease itself. T1D Exchange acts as a convener of the thousands of people working to improve patient outcomes already—by connecting them to one another and to the patient community at large. Drawing on decades of research and data that have come before, T1D Exchange aims to be the translational engine that enables the entire T1D ecosystem to collaborate in truly novel ways via the integration of a clinic network, clinic registry, biorepository, and the online patient/caregiver community, Glu.
About The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
The Helmsley Charitable Trust aspires to improve lives by supporting effective nonprofits in health, place-based initiatives, and education and human services. Since 2008, when the Trust began its active grantmaking, it has committed more than $1 billion. The Helmsley Type 1 Diabetes Program is the largest private funder of T1D-related research, treatment and support programs.
About Unitio
Unitio is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to connect researchers, physicians, and patients battling disease in a way that facilitates discoveries, accelerates treatments, and provides answers to some of the most pressing questions. Unitio’s real-world, patient data platform is designed to accelerate all aspects of drug and device development via an integrated system of people and institutions already working hard to decode different parts of complex diseases by connecting them to one another and to their patient communities.
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