HAVING a baby is a huge event in any woman's life. But if you are diabetic, it can raise a whole host of potential problems.

That's why many major hospitals around the region have set up multi-disciplinary teams of midwives and doctors to help diabetic women have a healthy, normal pregnancy.

With 1.4m confirmed diabetics in the UK and perhaps another million who have not been diagnosed, this is a major health care issue.

Keeping diabetes under control helps to ensure that a pregnancy will go well. Once the baby is developing it is vital, particularly in the early stages, that women have a tight control over their blood sugar levels.

Poor blood sugar control can have potentially devastating long-term implications for the development of a new baby.

According to the major charity Diabetes UK, formerly the British Diabetes Association, the first eight weeks of the pregnancy are particular important for the physical development of babies.

Poor control of blood sugar during conception greatly increases the chances that babies will develop problems.

Preventing avoidable tragedies and promoting the welfare of diabetic mothers and babies is close to the heart of midwife Val Williamson, of Hartburn, near Stockton.

Val, a long-serving career midwife, is one of a relatively small band of specialists who have studied diabetic nursing.

Newly graduated, Val is part of a multi-disciplinary team at North Tees General Hospital, which tries to provide a full range of facilities for women who have to cope with diabetes and pregnancy. "The big concern when a woman with diabetes becomes pregnant is to try to ensure that her condition is well-controlled," says Val, who has been assisting at births since the mid-1970s.

"We try to promote pre-pregnancy counselling services through health centres and surgeries, but the take up is not terribly good.

"It is in the women's interest to be as normal and stable as possible before they get pregnant and even more important once they are pregnant," she adds.

While most women with diabetes are very responsible about medication, many are not aware that once they are pregnant, some will have to switch from tablets to injecting insulin.

According to Diabetes UK, women who are taking tablets for type 2 (non insulin dependent) diabetes must stop taking them because they could harm the baby.

Most women with type 2 diabetes are told to switch to insulin injections to control their blood sugar levels. Usually they can return to tablets and stop injecting after the pregnancy.

Because it is vital to give the women as much support as possible, particularly during the early stages of the pregnancy, multi-disciplinary teams tend to forge strong bonds with their patients.

All pregnant women have to monitor their blood sugar levels at least four times a day, ideally before or two hours after, meals and before going to bed.

In the first three months of pregnancy diabetic women are urged to follow diet and exercise guidelines, stop smoking and reduce or stop drinking alcohol.

Women are urged to contact their diabetes specialist nurse, midwife or doctor if they have particular problems with nausea and vomiting.

It is also vital that women attend all antenatal clinic appointments and phone their clinic or GP any time they have a query or concern.

"The ladies come to us such a lot we get to know them really well," says Val.

One of her "star patients" is care worker Amanda Kemp. Amanda, who lives in Hartburn, Stockton, had to overcome other problems before even considering what to do during pregnancy.

"We tried for ages for a baby but I couldn't get pregnant. I got very depressed and upset about things," she remembers.

Amanda and her partner Kev sought specialist help from infertility experts at North Tees Hospital, only a few hundred yards away from her home.

"I had IUI (inter-uterine insemination). It didn't work the first time but, after the second go, I got pregnant," she says.

Every pregnancy is precious but Amanda was terrified in case anything went wrong. "Being diabetic, I knew I had to be extra careful. But it was't until I met up with Val and her team that I fully appreciated how important it was to control my condition," she says. "Really, I had to learn from scratch about all of the problems and what I had to do."

Amanda discovered that she had to switch from the daily tablets she had been taking for her type 2 diabetes to injecting insulin - something she had never done.

It took some getting used to but, for Amanda, the important thing was to ensure that her pregnancy was unaffected.

"Val and the people who work with her were great. It is the sort of place where you can ask anybody anything. It is very friendly," says Amanda.

Regular visits to the hospital to monitor her condition led to her insulin type being changed to suit her particular needs.

Things went according to plan and, 11 weeks ago, baby Caitlyn put in an appearance, to the delight of Amanda and Kev and all the staff at North Tees Hospital. "She came a week early but everything worked out fine," says Amanda.

* Diabetes UK's booklet, Pregnancy and Diabetes, is priced at £3. Call 0800 585088 quoting ref: 6019.

* Contact the Diabetes Careline on 020 7636 6112 for help and support on all aspects of diabetes.

* For more information on diabetes and Diabetes UK visit www.diabetes.org.uk