Contraception and the adolescent diabetic

We believe our data suggests that pregnancy among adolescent diabetics is more frequent than would be expected from the general population at a time when diabetic control is at its worse. Thus patients and their offspring are exposed to extreme morbidity. Current recommendations regarding contraception in patients with diabetes are not appropriate for the adolescent population and therefore tend to support this phenomenon rather than relieve it. Because of the peculiar physiological and developmental characteristics of this population, more medical research is necessary regarding various hormonal preparations available to determine the safest acceptable contraceptive for the adolescent diabetic. To be truly effective, these new alternatives must be presented to the patient in the context of a counseling program that (1) recognizes that this population does have an unusually high frequency of pregnancy for reasons unknown, and that (2) stresses the need for the patient to take control of the diabetes prior to becoming pregnant.