Pregnancy, Diabetes and Chemotherapy

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Abstract
The problem of the increasing incidence of pregnancy in diabetic patients is luckily associated with the increasing availability of chemotherapeutic agents. The early recognition and the rigid control of diabetes, latent or overt, hyper-lipemia, salt and water retentions, hypertension, subclinical vitamin or iron deficiencies, infections, endocrine and electrolyte disturbances, vomiting, and constipation prevent any substantial difference in the course of pregnancy and labor between diabetic and non-diabetic mothers. Fetal wastage has been markedly reduced. The opinions of different workers regarding the use of the different chemotherapeutic agents during pregnancy are discussed. Although such agents have provided splendid chances when used in properly selected and carefully supervised cases gaining the maximum Benefit with the least side effect, the indiscriminate use of such potent chemical agents is hazardous. The clinical indications for the administration of a particular chemotherapeutic agent in the early or late months of pregnancy in the different groups of diabetic patients awaits wider exploration and long term studies.