*Welcome to the OutUK series looking at gay men and their health brought to you in association with the NHS* website.**
	Each week we'll tackle a different topic in our A to Z of Gay Health. We'll have features and advice on everything from relationships, sexual health, mental and physical conditions and how to stay fit. You can follow any of links provided below for more information direct from the NHS website, or see this week's feature L: Laxatives.

Pregnancy And Giving Birth

You can have a healthy pregnancy with type 1 diabetes, although managing your diabetes might be harder.

It's important to have good blood sugar control before and during pregnancy.

It's recommended you have an HbA1c of below 48mmol/mol when you're pregnant.

Constant high blood glucose levels can harm your baby, especially in the first 8 weeks of pregnancy.

There's also a risk of having a large baby, which can cause complications during labour.

Important

If you find out you're pregnant and it's not planned, get an urgent appointment with your diabetes team.

Before pregnancy

Speak to your diabetes team If you're planning to get pregnant. They can help you get more stable blood glucose levels and manage it by measuring your HbA1c levels on a monthly basis.

You'll need to take a high dose (5mg) of folic acid every day from when you start trying to get pregnant until you're 12 weeks pregnant. This can help you have a healthy pregnancy.

You need a higher dose than those without diabetes. You can get this on prescription.

When you're pregnant

Keeping your blood glucose levels stable and low can be more difficult as your hormones change and you deal with morning sickness.

You should be offered continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) or flash monitoring to help you control your blood glucose levels while you're pregnant.

You'll have extra appointments with your maternity and diabetes teams when you're pregnant. This usually means check-ups every 2 weeks, as well as extra tests and scans.

You can have a natural birth, but it's recommended you have your baby in hospital.

You might be advised to have your labour started early (induced). It's slightly more common to have an elective caesarean section when the baby is large.

Diabetes UK has information on diabetes and pregnancy.

OutUK's A to Z of Gay Health continues and you can read this week's feature L: Laxatives. We have covered many subjects in this series and you can catch up with all of our Previous A to Z Features. If you want to find out more about this particular topic you can visit the Original article on the NHS website. If you are worried by any aspect of your health make sure you go and see your doctor or book an appointment at your local clinic.
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