The problem of autonomic neuropathy in diabetic pregnancy

The hazards of pregnancy for both the mother and the fetus in diabetic women with severe retinopathy and nephropathy are well reported. We wish to highlight a poorly recognized problem in the obstetric management of the diabetic mother, that of pregnancy in a patient with autonomic neuropathy. Two such cases are reported where the presence of autonomic neuropathy severely jeopardized the health of the mother, with the loss of the fetus in one, due to occurrence of severe and intractable vomiting. The presence of moderate to severe symptomatic diabetic autonomic neuropathy, particularly with evidence of gastroparesis, may be a relative contraindication to pregnancy.