Keeping a tight check on your blood sugar levels gives you the best chance of a normal pregnancy and a healthy baby. The following video explains about the importance of testing your blood glucose, and advises you about watching out for problems which may arise such as hypos and ketoacidosis.

All about Targets! Getting it just right...

You should talk to your diabetes care team about the blood glucose targets which you need to achieve. Together you can work on achieving your individual targets.

All about Hypos! Too low...

• During pregnancy hypos can be more frequent and harder to recognise, especially during the first 3 months.
• Regular blood glucose testing is important. You should test your blood glucose at least 4 times a day. Always test your blood glucose before driving, and before going to bed. Occasionally, you may also need to test through the night too.
• Regular meals can help you to manage hypos.
• For risk of hypo you need to monitor blood glucose and take into account if you're doing more exercise etc- discuss this with your diabetes care team.
• Ask your diabetes care team about treatments for hypos. You can get a gel containing glucose to treat your hypos and, if you are being treated with insulin an injection called Glucagon can be used.
• Visit the Diabetes UK website for more info on treating hypos.

All about Ketoacidosis! Too high...

Ketoacidosis can occur without you feeling seriously ill, making it a dangerous condition, which, if not treated, can be fatal to your unborn baby. If you are ill, vomiting or if your blood sugar is greater than 10mmol/L you should test your urine for ketones. Any more than a small amount of ketones in your urine means that you need to get checked out and treated by your GP or a member of your diabetes care team. More information on signs and symptoms can be found here.

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