What can happen to the baby of a woman with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes during pregnancy?
Diabetes in a pregnant woman can cause the baby to have birth defects, miscarry, be born early and have a low birth weight, be stillborn, or grow extra large and have a hard delivery. A woman who has Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes that is not tightly controlled has a higher chance of having a baby with a birth defect than does a woman without diabetes. The organs of the baby form during the first two months of pregnancy, often before a woman knows that she is pregnant. Out of control blood sugar can affect those organs while they are being formed and cause serious birth defects, such as those of the brain, spine, and heart, or can lead to miscarriage of the developing baby. If the woman’s blood sugar remains out of control throughout the pregnancy, the baby likely will grow extra large. Out of control diabetes causes the baby’s blood sugar to be high. The baby makes more insulin and uses the extra calories or stores them as fat. The baby is “overfed” and grows extra large. Extra large babie
