The diabetes clinic at the Women’s Hospital is providing assistance for diabetic women throughout their pregnancy with a dedicated team of doctors, nurses, nutritionists and dieticians.
Dr Mohammed Bashir, an endocrine consultant at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), leads the team and provides tailored programmes for such women that would help them regulate diabetes and decrease any complications during pregnancy and delivery.
Dr Bashir said, “It is extremely important for women with diabetes to achieve normal blood glucose levels before they become pregnant. If women have poorly controlled diabetes going into a pregnancy, they are at much higher risk of having serious foetal complications in particular, congenital deficits, early loss of pregnancy, high blood pressure, large birth weight babies, resulting in more cesarean deliveries. This also increases complications during delivery including, premature births and foetal death.’’
He added, “Pregnant women who have diabetes should ideally plan their pregnancy and ensure their blood glucose are within targets prior to conception. Women, who require assistance with their planning, can visit our National Diabetes Centre services in Hamad General Hospital or Al Wakra Hospital.”
Ramya Munuswamy, a 35 year old type 2 diabetic, gave birth to a healthy baby boy at Women’s Hospital, despite being told in her home country that she should terminate her pregnancy because of the increased risks associated with
uncontrolled diabetes.
Ramya went to a private clinic for a second option upon returning to Qatar. She said, “When the doctor in my home country told me I should terminate my pregnancy because of the risks to the baby and myself, I was shocked. Diabetes is hereditary in my family and as a result, I developed type 2 after giving birth to my first child.”
Post-pregnancy women like Ramya will be referred to the Women’s Hospital diabetes centre. Here they will be able to work with Dr Bashir and his team to get general counselling about the illness and understand the risks involved with not regulating their diabetes as soon as possible. They will also learn how to administer insulin injections, treat low and high blood sugar, how to use a glucometer, chart their blood sugar levels, follow home glucose monitoring and adapt their eating habits.
Dr Bashir said, “We spend most of our time teaching and guiding our patients to self-manage their blood glucose level. This education empowers our patients to take control of their diabetes during and after pregnancy.”
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, accounting for about 90% of diabetes cases in Qatar. Despite what is believed by the public, type 2 diabetes does not cause any symptoms of thirst or excessive urination in the vast majority of patients.