During your pregnancy your chief goal is to keep your blood sugar under tight control. Tight control, also called intensive insulin therapy, is a means of keeping your blood sugar within a normal or near-normal range. You do this by frequently monitoring your blood sugar, using different types of insulin and adjusting your dosage based on blood sugar levels, diet and changes in routine. Your doctor will tell you what your target blood sugar range is.

If you have type 2 diabetes, you'll probably stop taking oral medications and take insulin to manage your blood sugar while you're pregnant. One reason your doctor will recommend you switch to insulin is that the safety of oral diabetes medications for pregnant women and unborn babies is unknown when taken during all nine months of your pregnancy. Another is that intensive insulin therapy can give you tighter control of your blood sugar.

Women without diabetes who develop gestational diabetes require insulin to control their blood sugar during the first three months of pregnancy. Some oral medications are used during the second and third trimester.

Members of your health care team will teach you how to take insulin if you switch to intensive insulin therapy. They'll also tell you how often to check your blood sugar. Don't be surprised if you have to check it more often. Your body undergoes rapid change to support the healthy growth of your baby.

Blood sugar control is crucial not only to your health but to the health of your unborn child. If during the first six to eight weeks of your baby's development — when your baby's heart, lungs, kidneys and brain are being formed — your blood sugar is too high, your baby is at increased risk of birth defects. You could also have a miscarriage. A high level of acid in your blood (diabetic ketoacidosis) also can cause miscarriage.

Later in pregnancy, uncontrolled blood sugar can lead to premature birth or stillbirth. Excess blood sugar can cause your baby to grow larger than normal and make delivery more complicated. And in contrast to your own condition, your baby may be born with low blood sugar. Another possible complication is a yellowish skin color (jaundice) from a buildup of old blood cells that aren't being cleared away fast enough by your baby's liver. Fortunately, these conditions are easily treatable.

Your own risks from uncontrolled blood sugar during pregnancy include high blood pressure and a worsening of pre-existing diabetic complications, especially eye disease (retinopathy).