Diabetes in Pregnancy: Management of Diabetes and Its Complications from Preconception to the Postnatal Period

Excerpt

Clinical guidelines have been defined as ‘systematically developed statements which assist clinicians and patients in making decisions about appropriate treatment for specific conditions’. This clinical guideline concerns the management of diabetes and its complications from preconception to the postnatal period. It has been developed with the aim of providing guidance on:

1. preconception information

2. diagnosis and management of gestational diabetes

3. glycaemic control in the preconception, antenatal and intrapartum periods

4. changes to medications for diabetes and its complications before or during pregnancy

5. management of diabetic emergencies (for example, hypoglycaemia and ketoacidosis) and diabetic complications (such as retinopathy) during pregnancy

6. the timetable of antenatal appointments to be offered to women with diabetes

7. timing and mode of birth (including induction of labour, caesarean section, analgesia and anaesthesia, and the use of steroids for fetal lung maturation)

8. initial care of the newborn baby

9. management of diabetes and its complications during the postnatal period.