Diabetes in Pregnancy

Patients who have prediabetes or diabetes benefit from precise monitoring and specialized care when they’re pregnant. Regardless of the type of diabetes, high blood sugar levels can cause serious complications during pregnancy and place a baby at increased risk for health problems.

As a leading academic medical institution, the University of Chicago Medicine offers innovative treatments and multidisciplinary expertise for patients who need complex diabetes care before, during and after their pregnancies.

What We Offer

Our patients benefit from direct access to specialists in maternal-fetal medicine, endocrinology, medical imaging and nutrition in a centralized setting. Depending on your risk factors, our doctors will determine whether specialized care during your pregnancy is needed.

Our physicians will help you understand what a diabetes diagnosis means for your pregnancy, including:

• The risks associated with diabetes and pregnancy
• How diet modification and physical activity support a healthy pregnancy and delivery
• The importance of managing your medications
• The value in receiving follow-up diabetes care after you deliver your baby

Specialized Care for Pregnant Patients With All Types of Diabetes

Diabetes is one of most common health complications during pregnancy. Our dedicated team for high-risk pregnancies provides care for patients with:

• Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes: If you have Type 1 diabetes or Type 2 diabetes, managing your blood sugar before you conceive and during your pregnancy is vital to having a healthy pregnancy. It’s critical to identify patients with Type 2 diabetes in the first trimester. If you have risk factors for this, your physician will test you during your initial prenatal visit. You can review a list of risk factors and discuss with your doctor or midwife if early screening is right for you.
• Gestational diabetes: Gestational diabetes is usually diagnosed during the second trimester of pregnancy and can cause complications like the baby growing larger than normal if not well-controlled. It can be managed with diet, exercise and medication.

Gestational diabetes Q&A: Getting the care you need during and after pregnancy

• Prediabetes: Prediabetes occurs when your blood sugar levels are abnormally high, but not enough to be classified as diabetic. Most people have prediabetes before developing Type 2 diabetes. Patients with prediabetes often develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy and should be tested for diabetes in their first trimester of pregnancy.
• Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY): UChicago Medicine is a nationally respected referral center for monogenic diabetes care, including managing this rare form throughout pregnancy. Depending on which type of MODY a patient has, treatment may range from active monitoring to blood sugar regulating medications

Refer a Patient to Our Diabetes in Pregnancy Specialists

If you’re seeking treatment for a patient requiring complex care for diabetes in pregnancy, our referral service can arrange for your patient to visit with multiple specialists in one location on their first visit.

Call us at 773-702-6118

Learn More About the Specialists on Your Care Team

For pregnant patients with complex cases of diabetes, our UChicago Medicine physicians and specialists offer individualized treatment plans to help you manage your blood sugar levels.

Led by Maritza Gonzalez, MD, and Laura Dickens, MD, our multidisciplinary team taps the expertise of maternal-fetal medicine specialists and maternal-fetal medicine physician assistants, endocrinologists, registered nutritionists and sonologists to provide leading-edge diabetes care for you and your baby throughout your pregnancy.