In addition to all the joy and anxiety that come with being pregnant, one of the biggest risks is for a woman who has pre-existing diabetes. These pregnant women are at risk for developing more progressive diabetic retinopathy, and it does not matter if the disease is type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Let’s discuss concerns about diabetic retinopathy risk and pregnancy.
What Is Diabetic Retinopathy and Its Risk Factors?
Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease that weakens the blood vessels in the retina. Without proper and prompt treatment this can lead to vision loss, low vision, and blindness. This is a disease related to diabetes like glaucoma and cataracts.
A person’s risk factors for developing diabetic retinopathy include: uncontrolled blood sugar, hypertension, the amount of time the person has had diabetic related retinopathy, and PREGNANCY.
Symptoms of Diabetic Retinopathy
Symptoms of diabetic retinopathy can include the following;
- Blurred or distorted vision
- Color blindness or seeing faded looking colors
- Poor night vision
- Eye floaters and streaks in vision
- Difficulty seeing faraway objects or having trouble reading (close vision)
Some of these symptoms can come and go. Make an appointment with our OBGYN if you are experiencing any combination of these symptoms.
Gestational Diabetes
In addition, a woman who has never had diabetes can actually develop it during pregnancy known as gestational diabetes. This usually appears around the middle of pregnancy so our OBGYN will need to monitor blood sugar carefully to prevent damage to both the mother and baby.
Unmanaged gestational diabetes can cause blood pressure (preeclampsia) to increase during pregnancy which in turn increases the risk the mother may have a stroke or blood clot during delivery. The baby is also in danger since he or she can be born with seriously low blood sugar.
Contact Capital Women’s Care at (301) 424-3444 if you have diabetes and are considering getting pregnant.
Sources: The Effect of Pregnancy on Diabetic Retinopathy – Retina Today
Diabetes-Related Retinopathy: Symptoms, Treatment & Causes (clevelandclinic.org)
Diabetic retinopathy in pregnancy – A review – PMC (nih.gov)
Diabetic Retinopathy and the Effect of Pregnancy – PMC (nih.gov)
