Support for type 1s navigating pregnancy (from a fellow T1 mum)

[AbyType1]

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to say hello and share a little bit about my journey, in case it’s helpful to anyone here.

I’m a type 1 diabetic myself, and I’ve been through two pregnancies with T1. I know firsthand how intense, medicalised, and at times overwhelming that journey can feel — physically and emotionally. Amidst the constant blood sugar checks, appointments, and planning, I realised how little support there was for the emotional and mindset side of pregnancy for diabetics.

If you’re pregnant now, planning a pregnancy, or just curious, I’d love to connect.

Feel free to ask me anything, or even just say hi.

Much love,
Aby

 

[Evergreen]

Hi Aby,

That’s so lovely of you! I agree to a certain extent that there’s limited space for emotional wellbeing.

I will say though that I believe pregnancy care is amazing and I actually feel more held now that I’m pregnant than I did not being pregnant.

Best wishes,
Anne

 

[Inka]

Welcome @AbyType1 🙂 Like @Evergreen I felt very well cared for in my three pregnancies with Type 1. My last pregnancy was high risk (for other reasons) and the care I had was exemplary.

Emotionally I think there’s an extra layer of worry with Type 1, but honestly I think every woman worries during pregnancy so we share that with them, just with the added nuisance of watching our blood sugar like a hawk!

 

[AbyType1]

Hi Anne,

Thank you so much for your kind message — and I absolutely love hearing that you’re feeling so held and supported in your pregnancy That’s honestly how it SHOULD be, and it’s wonderful to know that the care you're receiving reflects that.

I totally agree — there’s amazing care out there. I think what I really noticed (especially after my first birth) was how much support dropped off once the baby arrived. Suddenly, the focus shifts entirely to the baby, and as a diabetic, that postpartum period can be really rough — physically and emotionally.

That’s part of what inspired me to offer support that includes mindset and emotional wellbeing — not just for pregnancy, but for that often-overlooked fourth trimester too.

Wishing you a calm, grounded rest of your pregnancy and beyond.

Much love,
Aby

 

[AbyType1]

Welcome @AbyType1 🙂 Like @Evergreen I felt very well cared for in my three pregnancies with Type 1. My last pregnancy was high risk (for other reasons) and the care I had was exemplary.

Emotionally I think there’s an extra layer of worry with Type 1, but honestly I think every woman worries during pregnancy so we share that with them, just with the added nuisance of watching our blood sugar like a hawk!

Thank you for the warm welcome and I love hearing that your care was so positive across all three pregnancies — especially during a high-risk one. It’s really reassuring to hear stories like yours, and I know they give others hope too.

And yes — completely agree. That emotional layer of worry is part of pregnancy for so many women, and with T1 we just carry this extra little passenger (the blood sugar hawk!) that never let's up. I think what struck me personally was how little space there was to actually process those feelings, or be supported emotionally beyond the medical side of things.

That’s really what drew me to this work — helping other type 1s feel seen, calm, and emotionally resourced in a journey that’s often quite full-on from start to finish.

Thank you again for sharing

Much love,
Aby

 

[Lauren]

Aw what a nice chat!
I am currently 14 weeks and also have a 7yo daughter. I feel very well looked after by my diabetes team and I'm lucky my workplace are also very supportive. It is definitely an extra pressure constantly obsessing over BG levels but I can't believe how fast the first trimester went so hoping it won't bog me down too much before baby arrives.

I'm really looking forward to knowing the gender so I can start thinking about names etc, and so it feels a bit more 'real' rather than just a massive health issue! Although it started to feel more real last week during my ultrasound - there was an actual baby on the screen, waving its arms! I felt silly for feeling so surprised haha. But it was lovely to see.

 

[Evergreen]

Aw what a nice chat!
I am currently 14 weeks and also have a 7yo daughter. I feel very well looked after by my diabetes team and I'm lucky my workplace are also very supportive. It is definitely an extra pressure constantly obsessing over BG levels but I can't believe how fast the first trimester went so hoping it won't bog me down too much before baby arrives.

I'm really looking forward to knowing the gender so I can start thinking about names etc, and so it feels a bit more 'real' rather than just a massive health issue! Although it started to feel more real last week during my ultrasound - there was an actual baby on the screen, waving its arms! I felt silly for feeling so surprised haha. But it was lovely to see.

I keep being surprised about the similarities between our pregnancies! I felt exactly the same haha! Cannot wait to find out the sex and also somehow felt incredibly surprised there was an actual baby on the screen! It’s just such a little miracle!

 

[Evergreen]

Thank you for the warm welcome and I love hearing that your care was so positive across all three pregnancies — especially during a high-risk one. It’s really reassuring to hear stories like yours, and I know they give others hope too.

And yes — completely agree. That emotional layer of worry is part of pregnancy for so many women, and with T1 we just carry this extra little passenger (the blood sugar hawk!) that never let's up. I think what struck me personally was how little space there was to actually process those feelings, or be supported emotionally beyond the medical side of things.

That’s really what drew me to this work — helping other type 1s feel seen, calm, and emotionally resourced in a journey that’s often quite full-on from start to finish.

Thank you again for sharing

Much love,
Aby

That’s a really lovely goal Aby!

I know what you mean about support dropping off after the birth and the focus being entirely on the baby! I actually think that’s a genuine problem across maternity care.

I had my first child before I had diabetes (or actually I was diagnosed at 35 weeks but not with type 1) and my experience was very similar as a ‘non-diabetic’. It made me feel a little bit like a vessel for carrying precious goods and as soon as delivery was over I didn’t matter too much. I understand that feels worse when you’ve got diabetes to contend with, but I genuinely do believe that care should be better across maternity services