Abstract
Over the past decade the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in pregnancy has continued to increase. It is vital that health care professionals recognize that preconception care is just as important for mothers with type 2 diabetes as it is in type 1 diabetes. All women with type 2 diabetes should be advised regarding safe effective contraception and the benefits of optimal glycemic control, folic acid supplementation, and avoidance of potentially harmful mediations before attempting pregnancy. Glycemic control is the most important modifiable risk factor for congenital anomaly in women with type 2 diabetes, whereas maternal obesity and social disadvantage are associated with large for gestational age neonates. This review aims to bring the reader up to date with the burden of perinatal outcomes and clinical interventions to improve maternal and infant health. It warns that the consequences of type 2 diabetes pregnancy do not end at birth.
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Acknowledgments
Helen R. Murphy is a funder of Closed Loop Pregnancy projects for Diabetes UK, and receives HRM salary support from NIHR.
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Conflict of Interest
Niranjala M. Hewapathirana declares that she has no conflict of interest. Helen R. Murphy has received speakers’ honoraria from Medtronic, Sanofi Aventis, and NovoNordisk, and for the European Advisory Board from Medtronic. She also receives support in kind for CGM and devices from CGM Medtronic and Abbott Diabetes Care. She has received honoraria unrelated to CGM from NovoNordisk, and from Medtronic (CGM manufacturer).
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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.
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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Diabetes and Pregnancy
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Hewapathirana, N.M., Murphy, H.R. Perinatal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes. Curr Diab Rep 14, 461 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-013-0461-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-013-0461-1