This Friday, on World Diabetes Day, the UN highlights how the disease affects pregnancy, in line with this year’s global theme of managing diabetes “at all stages of life.”
The organization also released its first global guidelines on how to manage diabetes before, during and after pregnancy.
“These guidelines are grounded in the realities of women’s lives and health needs and provide clear, evidence-based strategies for providing high-quality care to all women, everywhere,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).
The guide aims to support the 21 million pregnancies affected by diabetes annually by offering recommendations that recognize how diabetes-related risks evolve over the lifespan.
Why is it important
According to the new WHO report, diabetes currently affects more than 800 million people worldwide, and around half are undiagnosed.
It is a major cause of heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and amputations. Its impact is increasing most rapidly in low- and middle-income countries, where access to essential care and medicines is often limited.
This year’s World Diabetes Day message highlights the importance of improving diabetes care across the lifespan, starting even before pregnancy and continuing into early childhood and adulthood.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes occurs when the body cannot properly regulate blood glucose.
• Type 2 diabetes accounts for 95 percent of cases and is associated with being overweight, insufficient physical activity and genetics, according to the WHO.
• The causes of type 1 diabetes remain unknown and those affected require lifelong insulin treatment.
• The prevalence of diabetes has been increasing worldwide for decades, placing increasing pressure on health systems.
Pregnancy: a critical window
Diabetes in pregnancy can be pre-existing or detected for the first time during pregnancy.
Women who develop diabetes during pregnancy face an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes after childbirth.
The condition increases the risk of life-threatening complications, including preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders.
Babies face increased risks of stillbirth, seizures and birth defects. Children born after pregnancies complicated by diabetes are more likely to develop obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes later in life.
What the WHO recommends
The WHO Global Diabetes Pact offers tools to improve prevention and care around the world.
The recently released pregnancy guidelines set out 27 recommendations, including:
• Eat a diet low in added sugars, with carbohydrates from whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes.
• At least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, including resistance training.
• Regular blood glucose monitoring
• Routine ultrasounds before and after 24 weeks
• Appropriate medical treatment
