[Victoria Lane]

I just got some paper work on our fd. It states that she was 1lb.14oz when she was born which I knew. And born at 26 weeks gustation. I knew this but didn't know that the cause of such a pre mature birth and low birth weight was due to the birth mother having juvenile diabetes. Does anyone know how this will effect our fd if at all. Is it more likely she could develop diabetes, she is 7 years old now. I haven't had her tested for diabetes because I didn't have any idea her birth mother had it. So what would you do with this information?
Thanks for your help.

[LisaCA]

hi,

here's the website for the juvenile diabetes foundation:

http://www.jdrf.org/

here's some of what they say:


"Is type 1 diabetes hereditary?
Ninety percent of children who develop type 1 diabetes actually have no relative with the disease. Thanks to studies of families, researchers now can identify at birth when a baby carries some of the genes that indicate risk factors for type 1 diabetes. Certain genes called HLA markers are associated with diabetes risk. If a child is born with such markers, his or her risk of developing type 1 diabetes is about the same as if he or she had a sibling with diabetes, even though no other family member may have the disease. There are other genes that also create risk for diabetes that have not yet been identified."

"According to William Winter, M.D., a professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, “At most, only 15 percent of people with type 1 diabetes have an affected first-degree relative—a sibling, parent, or offspring.* Research suggests that genes account for less than half the risk of developing type 1 diabetes.* These findings suggest that there are other factors besides genes that influence the development of diabetes.”

I would mention it to your daughter's doctor, ask if s/he feels she needs to be tested.

good luck!

Lisa

[Victoria Lane]

Thanks Lisa, I was hoping it wasn't something I had to stay up and worry about. LOL got enough of that stuff going on. I will let the doctor know the next time she has to see her. I did get on line and do a search. But my first thought is to post here and see if anyone had a similar situation.

[gigigeorge]

My sister is juv diabetic, she had a baby last december and was told that the risk of him developing it was only slightly increased (less than 1%) but not enough to even worry about it. This comes from her diabetic dr.

gina

[Victoria Lane]

Thank you Gina for responding. It's so wonderful that when we have a worry all we have to do is ask and someone who has been there can help ease our worries. I feel very lucky to have found this forum.

[MominLV]

I am a Type 1 diabetic. We adopted our first two, and then SUPRISE! I found out I was pregnant! Like the women have said before, there is only a slight higher % that your fd will develop Type 1. Actually they have found that if your father was Type 1 there is a higher diagnoses rate. Just pay attention to all of the classic signs of diabetes and you'll do great!

If you have any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them!

MominLV

BTW- It sounds like her birth mom didn't take care of herself; or, she had placenta problems or pre-eclampsia. All of these conditions are very common in a diabetic pregnancy.

[Victoria Lane]

Thank you MominLV, No you're right, we don't think she did take care of herself well. Although we weren't there to know exactly what happened. What I do know is she was 16, and her parents made her leave their house when they found out she was pregnant. So she didn't have the support system you would hope for a young mother. It does appear our fd is in good health as of now.