Postpregnancy glycemic control and weight changes in type 1 diabetic women

Pregnancy in type 1 diabetes requires excellent glycemic control. Most pregnant type 1 diabetic women achieve normoglycemia; however, there is scarce data on their postdelivery characteristics. We aimed to examine postpregnancy glycemic control and weight changes in type 1 diabetes.

We identified and followed (median 20 months) 254 women with singleton pregnancies receiving postdelivery medical care at a single institution.

Study subjects were 28.3 ± 4.7 years of age (mean ± SD), with a diabetes duration of 12.0 ± 7.7 years. Mean A1C before conception was 6.9 ± 1.4%, and preconception weight and BMI were 64.4 ± 10.0 kg and 23.9 ± 3.3 kg/m(2), respectively. Mean A1C decreased during pregnancy, reaching 5.7 ± 0.8% in the third trimester. We observed a mean weight gain of 14.4 ± 6.5 kg during pregnancy. Within 6 months after delivery, A1C increased by 0.8% (P < 0.0001) compared with the last trimester, and body weight and BMI were 4.4 kg and 2.5 kg/m(2) higher (P < 0.0001) compared with the preconception baseline. A1C further deteriorated by 0.8% until the end of follow-up. For women in the "pregnancy planning" program (n = 117), A1C >12 months after delivery was worse compared with before conception (7.1 vs. 6.5%, P = 0.0018), whereas in women with unplanned pregnancies, it was similar to the pregestational levels (7.3 vs.7.4%, P = 0.59). Weight and BMI in the entire study group did not return to prepregnancy levels and were 2.5 kg (P = 0.0079) and 0.9 kg/m(2) higher (P = 0.0058).

In this clinical observation, type 1 diabetic women showed postpregnancy deterioration in glycemic control and were unable to return to prepregnancy weight. Type 1 diabetic women seem to require special attention after delivery to meet therapeutic targets.