What should you know about type 2 diabetes during pregnancy?

Pregnancy changes how the body responds to insulin, so glucose can become harder to manage even when your routine has not changed. Higher or lower readings may affect decisions about meals, monitoring and treatment. Antenatal care may include reviews of blood pressure, kidney health, the baby’s growth and other diabetes-related risks.

Do not stop or switch diabetes medicine on your own. Some medicines are unsuitable in pregnancy, while others may be recommended by the obstetric or diabetes team. A plan made before conception may need regular revision.

Attend scheduled antenatal and diabetes appointments, record readings in the format requested, and take medicines exactly as prescribed. Eat regular meals and snacks according to your plan, stay gently active if your maternity team says it is safe, and carry a treatment plan for low glucose if you use medicine that can cause hypoglycaemia.

Tell the team about vomiting, reduced appetite, illness, or difficulty keeping food and fluids down. Ask who to contact outside clinic hours and what to do if readings are repeatedly outside your agreed range.

Seek urgent maternity or medical advice for severe headache, vision changes, heavy bleeding, severe abdominal pain, reduced fetal movement after following your maternity team’s instructions, or repeated very high or low glucose with symptoms. Confusion, fainting, deep or rapid breathing, or inability to keep fluids down needs immediate assessment.

Ask about your personal glucose targets, safe medicines, monitoring times, sick-day instructions, recommended activity, and how delivery and postnatal follow-up will be planned.