This article seems especially timely after the recent, widely-publicized study detailing the poor health habits of women who develop gestational diabetes. As with anything else, it seems an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure:

A study by a team of British researchers suggests that pre-pregnancy care of women may help reduce the risks associated with diabetes during pregnancy. The researchers noted that women who get medical care before pregnancy had better blood sugar control.

Dr. Rosemary C. Temple of Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital in Norwich, UK and her colleagues pointed that women with type 1 diabetes are more likely to have children with birth defects and babies that die shortly after birth. Their study revealed that the diabetes related risks were closely linked with how tightly blood sugar is controlled early in pregnancy, while the fetus' organs are still forming.

Interesting, and certainly helpful, information. Of course, this brings to light a bigger problem: the millions of women, pregnant or otherwise, who are without adequate healthcare. What if someone who does not have health insurance, cannot afford proper care? If they 'pass on' these circumstances to their babies, does that ensure future generations of unhealthy adults? How will be break this cycle? Perhaps it is not individuals we should be looking at, but the shortcomings of our health care system.