[Diabetes and pregnancy: our experience with the insulin pump]

The author describes a retrospective study on the use of the insulin pump or continuous sub-cutaneous insulin injection in 12 insulin-dependent diabetic women during the last six months of pregnancy. Use was found to be easy and the control of glycemia was significantly better (m = 5.81 mmol/l with continuous subcutaneous insulin injection as opposed to 7.66 before continuous sub-cutaneous insulin injection, p less than 0.01) than with the standard treatment of 3 discontinuous insulin injections. Although not significant, the number of episodes of hyperglycemia was found to be lower. However, no reduction in hypoglycemia was noted. Maternal complications were rare and the children did not present any serious abnormalities. The results encourage the use of the insulin pump with all insulin-dependent diabetics right from the onset of pregnancy.