Breastfeeding and the basal insulin requirement in type 1 diabetic women.

Objective: To evaluate whether breastfeeding in women with type 1 diabetes mellitus is associated with a decreased insulin requirement.

Methods: In this prospective study conducted between September 2006 and August 2008, type 1 diabetic pregnant women were recruited before the third trimester of pregnancy. Eligible women had no evidence of diabetes-related complications and were treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion pump therapy.

Using meal-based self-monitoring of blood glucose as a tool to improve outcomes in pregnancy complicated by diabetes.

Objective: To review the importance of controlling blood glucose levels and the role of self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) in the management of pregnancy complicated by diabetes.

Methods: This report describes the relationship between hyperglycemia and maternal and neonatal complications, reviews the utility of meal-based SMBG in modifying food choices and adjusting insulin doses, and proposes an algorithm to achieve normoglycemia in pregnancies complicated by diabetes.

Results: The risk of diabetes-related complications in pregnancy is more strongly associated with 1-hour postprandial plasma glucose concentrations than with fasting plasma glucose levels.