Romper Magazine: Is diabetes going to crush my dreams of the perfect pregnancy?

Romper Magazine: Is diabetes going to crush my dreams of the perfect pregnancy?

OBHG's Medical Director of Operations, Dr. Alissa Erogbogbo recently spoke with Romper Magazine about diabetes and pregnancy.

Read below for select quotes from Dr. Erogbogbo in the article that explores information, risks and advice for women with Type 1 diabetes who may be considering pregnancy. You can also click here to read the full article.

One Google search inquiry of “Type 1 diabetic and pregnancy” will sway you away from the world wide web forever. It’s not pretty. Dr. Alissa Erogbogbo, a medical director of operations at OB Hospitalist Group, cautions against search engines altogether. “It’s gloom and doom,” she warns. “It's what I call an ‘untouchable subject’ because it comes with so many high risk issues. And No. 1 being stillbirth. That's one that really doesn't digest well on both sides of the table for the physician or the patient. Neither one of us likes that.”

Erogbogbo told me that when a T1D patient enters their office, they are also fearful of the unknown of this pregnancy journey ahead. Based on past experiences, she told me there are prejudices baked into the physician's mind. “And when it comes to Black and Brown moms, then it's even worse,” Erogbogbo adds, citing the statistics that already stack up against pregnant women of color. “They're just like, ‘Oh, my gosh, she shouldn't be in my office. I don't want her in my office. I'm really afraid to take care of her.’ We don't want there to be a bad outcome. It requires a cohort team of individuals to all understand what we're working with, what we're facing. How do we support this mom?”

And that’s the bottom line, Erogbogbo says. As a Type 1 diabetic, she insists on building an all-star team made up of a physician, nutritionist, nurse practitioner, and a maternal fetal medicine specialist to ensure you get the care you need.

“All of us as physicians, we all take that oath that we put our patients' care first, even if it's a ‘normal’ pregnancy,” Erogbogbo said. “There are plenty of physicians and nurse practitioners and health care providers that want to provide support, so that you can have a healthy outcome.”