sweet expectations

Sweet Expectations – Navigating Pregnancy with Continuous Glucose Monitoring

R92.00 incl VAT

‘Behind the Veil…  Journeys in Chronic Healthcare with Dr Stan Landau and Team’

The CDE Academy is proud to invite you to register for our next Journal Club Webinar. Each session is real-time, online and CPD-accredited.

All our topics are carefully selected to be of interest to all members of the wider interdisciplinary diabetes team.

There is no doubt that society-specific guidelines have greatly advanced diabetes care, yet some critiques and challenges can be identified:

‘Sweet Expectations – Navigating Pregnancy with Continuous Glucose Monitoring’

Diabetes in pregnancy poses significant risks to both maternal and foetal health. Achieving optimal glycaemic management is crucial to prevent complications including, but not limited to, macrosomia, preeclampsia, preterm birth, and neonatal hypoglycaemia. ‘Traditional’ methods of glucose monitoring, such as fingerstick self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), are notorious for their inability to capture real-time fluctuations in glucose levels. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has emerged as a powerful tool providing dynamic and continuous assessment of glucose levels, thus offering several advantages over SMBG.

The established clinical benefits of CGM in Pregnancy Complicated by Diabetes include:

  1. Improved overall glycaemic management
  2. Enhanced Detection of Hypoglycaemia
  3. Reduction in Pregnancy-Related Complications

Despite these known positive attributes, important challenges emerge here in South Africa. Addressing disparities in access to this technology is a must! Numerous barriers exist in both the state and private sectors. Over and above cost, effective use of CGM requires both access to the technology and proper education on how to interpret and act upon the data. Health equity demands that women from diverse cultural, linguistic and educational backgrounds receive tailored information and support to maximize the benefits of CGM. Culturally competent care that respects different learning styles and addresses language barriers can empower women to use CGM effectively, leading to better self-management of diabetes during pregnancy. Lastly, women in disadvantaged communities often face multiple social determinants of health that can affect their ability to manage their diabetes, including limited access to healthy food, safe places to exercise, and comprehensive prenatal care. Health equity efforts should additionally focus on not only providing CGM technology but also ensuring that women have the broader social support they need for diabetes management. This may include addressing factors such as housing instability, food insecurity and lack of transportation, which can influence a woman’s ability to maintain optimal glucose control during pregnancy. Integrating CGM use with broader efforts to improve overall living conditions can support more equitable health outcomes!

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