Please arrive 15 - 30 minutes prior to your appointment to allow for parking and registration.  Parking on the lot is meter parking paid by credit card or pay by phone.

• Upon arriving at BC Women's Hospital (main entrance 93), report directly to the Diabetes Clinic desk # 7.
  
• You are welcome to bring a family member or friend with you.
  
• You can eat and drink before your appointment and are welcome to bring snacks with you.
  

Please bring:

• Any supplements, vitamins, and/or medications you are currently taking or a detail list of all medications. supplements, or vitamins.
• If you have a glucose meter, please bring it along with your blood sugar records.
  

At your first appointment you will meet the nurse and dietitian, often in a group setting with other pregnant individuals experiencing diabetes. This group session will take a minimum of 3 hours.

The nurse will talk with you about diabetes in pregnancy.  The information given will depend on the type of diabetes you have.

The dietitian will discuss with you a healthy diet for pregnancy that will also help you control your blood sugar and have a healthy weight gain. 

Some things that will be discussed with you in the appointment:

• your role on the team
  
• what you need to know before you get pregnant (if you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes)
  
• what are the effect of pregnancy on blood sugar
  
• what is the risk to the baby from high blood sugar
  
• and how to manage your condition - nutrition, activity, blood sugar testing, urine testing, and giving yourself insulin (if needed).
  

You will have a chance to ask questions, and will have access to resources so that you do not have to worry about remembering everything.

First Follow Up

At the first follow-up diabetes clinic appointment, you will see the endocrinologist (doctor), nurse, dietitian, physiotherapist, and social worker (if needed). This appointment will take a minimum of 90 minutes.

The Endocrinologist:

• Assesses health, pregnancy and diabetes management
  
• Advises on diabetes management.  This may include insulin, if needed
  
• Discusses exams or tests that may be required
  

The Dietitian:

• Assesses blood sugars, ketones, weight and hunger
  
• Changes are made to the your eating plan as needed
  
• Answers any food related questions
  
• Discusses insulin (if needed)
  

The Nurse:

• Assesses pregnancy and diabetes management
  
• Reviews blood sugar testing
• Teaches insulin (if needed)
  
• Answers any meter question

The Physiotherapist:

• Reviews activity and exercise plan
  
• Suggests exercises that may prevent injury and/or discomfort
  

The Social Worker (if needed):

• Provides psychosocial assessment, counseling, and support, focused on the reason for your referral 
  
• Develops a safe pregnancy and parenting support plan with you and connects you with  community resources
  
• Collaborates with the health care team
  

Regular Follow-up clinic appointments

Your endocrinologist will advise you on how often you need to come to the clinic.  Generally, you will return or have a virtual health  appointment every 1 to 4 weeks.  At these follow-up appointments you will always see speak with the endocrinologist, and you may also see other members of the diabetes team.