Treatment of pregnant insulin-dependent diabetic women.

The treatment of 620 insulin-dependent diabetic pregnant women is reported. The goal of treatment was to achieve a normal blood glucose concentration as soon as possibly during early, or even before pregnancy. When intensified conventional insulin therapy was started before conception, about 88% of the patients achieved normal blood glucose levels during the first weeks of pregnancy. In only about 20% of the pregnant diabetics without intensified preconceptional treatment a normal blood glucose level was obtained during their first hospitalization in pregnancy. The rate of congenital malformations was 1.1% in the former and 7.1% in the latter group.