Tell Decision Makers that Diabetes in Pregnancy Must be a Priority – Sign the Call to Action! – Women Deliver

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Produced by Women Deliver September 5, 2018

Tell Decision Makers that Diabetes in Pregnancy Must be a Priority – Sign the Call to Action!

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Diabetes in pregnancy is an under-recognized, under-prioritized health issue with significant implications for women, newborns, and children throughout their lives.

Diabetes is one of the most common conditions seen in pregnancy, affecting 10–25 percent of pregnancies globally, and about 1 in 7 births. The disease is treatable and preventable, but left unaddressed it can significantly increase a woman’s risk of life-threatening complications from pregnancy—like hemorrhage, hypertension, obstructed labor, and infection. It also increases the risk of stillbirth and poses serious threats to the health of newborns, including death from respiratory problems and permanent disability.

The effects of diabetes in pregnancy are far reaching. This health issue jeopardizes healthy populations, sustainable health systems, and the general wellbeing of a community. For example, diabetes in pregnancy is the most reliable marker of future type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke in women. Children born to women with diabetes in pregnancy are eight times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes and more likely to develop obesity in teenage years or adulthood. The burden of diabetes in pregnancy is growing and is not confined to high-resource settings or countries. It is a serious and growing issue in all regions of the world and at all income levels – in fact, 92 percent of cases occur in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).

We are calling on governments around the world to seize the opportunity of the 2018 High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) at the United Nations General Assembly to take deliberate and concerted action to address the toll of diabetes in pregnancy – to save lives, improve maternal health, and curb intergenerational transmission of NCDs.

Please join Women Deliver, the World Diabetes Foundation, and the NCD Alliance in the call to action below:

We come together as a broad coalition of stakeholders who are committed to comprehensive and sustainable solutions to end preventable maternal and child deaths, combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs), promote good nutrition and the right to health, and achieve health and wellbeing for all. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage hinges on finding common cause and shared solutions for crosscutting issues like diabetes in pregnancy. We stress the complex and interconnected risks of diabetes in pregnancy, and call for attention and action.

Sign the call to action here!

The full text is available here.


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