Patient experience in a diabetic program project improves subsequent pregnancy outcome.

Abstract

There has been a notable improvement in the outcome of the pregnancies of insulin-dependent diabetics. This improvement has resulted from intensive health care programs and increased awareness among patients and health providers of the need for specialized prenatal care. We hypothesized that participation in a specialized program providing early glycemic control would benefit the patient's subsequent pregnancy, despite progression of the diabetic disease process. We prospectively studied 55 insulin-dependent diabetic patients enrolled before 9 weeks' gestation through two consecutive pregnancies: sequence 1 and sequence 2. A control group of 55 insulin-dependent diabetic patients, entering the program for the first time, were matched with the sequence 2 pregnancies of the study group by maternal age and year of pregnancy. Specific outcomes related to glycemic control in early gestation were significantly improved from sequence 1 to sequence 2 pregnancies: earlier week of entry (P = .0001), lower glycohemoglobin at 9 weeks (P = .005) and at 14 weeks (P = .02), and improved fetal outcome (decreased rate of spontaneous abortions or major malformations; P less than .01). Week of entry and glycohemoglobin at 9 and 14 weeks were also significantly improved compared with the control group. Seventy-three percent of the patients entered the program earlier in their sequence 2 pregnancies (P = .001) and had lower glycohemoglobin concentrations at 9 weeks (P = .005) compared with their sequence 1 pregnancies. Sixty-five percent of the patients in sequence 2 had advanced diabetic disease (White class D-RF), compared with 46% in sequence 1 (P less than .05) and 44% of the controls (P less than .05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)