A woman with diabetes may conceive normally, but poorly controlled blood glucose around conception can increase the risk of pregnancy complications. (Credits: Freepik)For eight years, a 34-year-old woman had been trying to become a mother. Married for 11 years, she had already experienced two miscarriages. By the time she reached a fertility care centre, several pieces of a complicated puzzle had emerged: obesity, a low ovarian reserve, meaning fewer eggs were available than expected for her age, and an untreated thyroid condition called hypothyroidism, in which the body does not produce enough thyroid hormone, affecting metabolism. Then another finding changed the conversation.
Her random blood sugar was 224 mg/dL and her HbA1c (average blood sugar count of three months) was 7.1%, consistent with previously undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes. Her 38-year-old husband also had a fertility problem, with a low sperm count and a higher proportion of abnormally shaped sperm.
