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JDRF has now rebranded to Breakthrough T1D.
Our name has changed, our mission has not.

CGM gave me my child

Sophia Walker shares how CGM technology helped her become a mum.

Woman with type 1 diabetes stands with her young daughter

CGM gave me my child. Okay, perhaps my husband helped a bit. But I would have done it without him but never without CGM.

I have an extremely entrenched fear of low blood sugar. So much so that when I eventually came of child bearing age (in the pre-CGM dark days), bearing an actual child wasn’t something I could fathom. There was no way I could keep my blood glucose that low for the whole duration of a pregnancy. Case closed. Or so I thought.

But as I approached my mid-30s, an unfamiliar feeling began to creep in: a desire to have a baby. By this time I had been on CGM for a number of years. After a few wobbles at the start, I soon learned to embrace and trust CGM wholeheartedly. My trust in the technology coupled with the amazing knowledge and support of my team at St Thomas’s hospital gave me the confidence to undertake a pregnancy.

It was a difficult pregnancy but it would have been a hundred times harder – nay, unbearable – if I was constantly worried about passing out from low blood sugar, or high blood sugar for that matter (hello, insulin resistance in the later trimesters!).

Now I can’t imagine life without my daughter. She brings so much joy to me, and to others. I thank the NHS and CGM for the gift of her. I suppose I should thank my husband too…

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