hey i have a question....me and my bf want to be parents and well he has diabetes type 1 is he going to pass it to the baby?
Hi Marina: I am sorry that I did not respond immediately after your post. It sometimes takes time for me to go through each post and find if someone has posted a comment. In answer to your question: The fact that your bf has type 1 diabetes does increase the risk for your children to develop type 1 diabetes. After reviewing several recent studies in the diabetes literature, it would appear that your future child might have a 6-8% risk (6-8 chances out of 100 pregnancies for each pregnancy) of developing type 1 diabetes by the age of 20 years. This would not necessarily be the case if the mother had type 1 diabetes.
Hope this helps,
DrCogen
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If for instance, i am interested in getting birth control from a place such as Planned Parenthood. Will there be any complications in getting this just because i am a diabetic? Or should i be able to get some just as easily as the next person?
Thanks for the help!
Hey Dr. Cogen-- great post!!!
To Anonymous: you can get birth control from PlannedParenthood but they will likely want to discuss it with your endocrinologist because some birth control methods can affect blood sugars. If you can, you should simply get a prescription for birth control through your doctor so they can help you adjust your insulin needs too.
Ginger
Thanks, Ginger! To Anonymous: I wanted to go straight to the source (Planned Parenthood) to provide specific information. I talked to one of the nurse practitioners in our local Planned Parenthood (in Maryland) who stated that you will be treated like any other patient with or without diabetes. The staff is certainly ready to help you. She suggested that you may do one of the following options: 1. provide a note from your doctor suggesting a specific form of birth control (usually a "low hormonal" type of oral contraceptive), 2. arranging an appointment with a Planned Parenthood health care provider who will suggest appropriate birth control and ask that you confirm the choice with your diabetes doctor afterwards, or 3. arranging an appointment with the PP health care provider who will help you make a choice without consultation with your diabetes team. She strongly recommends the first or second options. Keep in mind that all that is necessary to bring to the appointment is your school ID card. You do not have to have insurance information for the visit. There may be a nominal fee for their services; but it is minimal. AND, the visit is confidential. She also suggests that you call your local PP as they may have slightly different rules; but she stated that most PP facilities recommend the same options throughout the country. My suggestion is to be proactive and talk to your diabetes team so that you know your options ahead of time; however as mentioned above there other ways to keep yourself safe and avoid unwanted pregnancy. I hope this has been helpful.
DrC
yes, thank you all it all was very helpful! so I'm still in my young teens, and talking with my endocrinologist about birth control is kind of out of the question, considering the fact that my mother is sitting next to me during the whole appt. so yeah. i really appreciate everything!
I am glad we were able to help. You might also want to read another blog that was posted recently: "Partnering with your doctor to get the information YOU want (without your parents asking the questions."
DrC