Volume 1 number 1 Summer 2003
Special issue for the abstracts of the 7th Pan Arab Conference on Diabetes
PACD7 , 25 – 28 March 2003 Cairo

Abstract Number : 57
Post partum care of the woman with diabetes

Pregnancy complicated by diabetes whether gestational or pregestational, generally is a period of intense medical care with frequent clinic visits for close metabolic and fetal monitoring. In contrast, the puerperium is relatively neglected as both new mother and her physician relax their vigilance .The puerperium, however, offers a unique window of opportunity for her physician to institute health habits and medical therapy that ultimately may have far – reaching effects on her quality of life and on any subsequent pregnancies .The primary goal for women with preexisting diabetes should be the continued maintenance of euglycemia, and for women with gestational diabetes mellitus, it should be the prevention of subsequent diabetes .Equally important is the development of an individualized reproductive health plan that address contraception , the planning of future pregnancies ,and long –term lifestyle changes that may either prevent diabetes or its sequelae. 

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