NHS rolls out new ‘artificial pancreas’ for pregnant women with diabetes

Local healthcare systems are now offering an enhanced hybrid closed loop system – or ‘artificial pancreas’ – to women with type 1 diabetes (T1D) who are pregnant or planning pregnancy.

Around 2000 women in England living with T1D becomes pregnant each year, according to NHS data, and pregnancy hormones can make it harder for them to manage their blood glucose levels.

If diabetes is badly managed during pregnancy, it can also lead to stillbirth, miscarriage, birth injuries and increased need for neonatal care.

The tech consists of an insulin pump, a glucose sensor, and an advanced algorithm that runs 24/7 on a mobile phone all, which calculates and delivers precise doses of insulin before and during a pregnancy.

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Unlike any other ‘artificial pancreas’, it allows women to set a lower glucose target to achieve better outcomes in pregnancy.

Kate Brintworth, chief midwifery officer for England, said: ‘The NHS is offering this cutting-edge ‘artificial pancreas’ because we want to transform the experiences of women with type 1 diabetes – helping to make this special time in their life safer, less stressful, and more enjoyable.’

She added that pregnant women with T1D who struggle to control their blood sugar levels, may have larger babies (up to 50% larger for their gestational age). ‘Large for gestational age babies are predisposed to developing obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in later life.’

The new tech will also eliminate the need for pregnant women to take finger prick tests and insulin injections and allow their diabetes teams to monitor their glucose levels remotely, she explained.

Health minister Gillian Merron said: ‘Motherhood should be one of the most exciting times in a woman’s life but for thousands with type 1 diabetes, pregnancy can pose a risk to their and their baby’s health.

‘This is a good example of fulfilling promises in our 10 Year Health Plan both to deliver more urgent care in the community right in people’s home and to shift the emphasis from sickness to prevention.’

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One mother who has benefited from this pregnancy-specific artificial pancreas is Nina Willer, a 40-year-old mum of two from Norwich.

During her first pregnancy, she used an insulin pump and did finger prick glucose tests every hour during the day, and every half an hour overnight. Shortly after delivering her daughter at 36 weeks, she went to neonatal intensive care where she received treatment for jaundice, weight issues, and other health complications.

For her second pregnancy, Ms Willer used the new hybrid closed loop for pregnancy and her second daughter was born healthy at 36 weeks.

She called this new technology a ‘gamechanger’ for women with T1D and said she was ‘so proud of what the NHS is doing with the help of this technology’.

‘I am acutely aware of the onward effect that this will have, not only for patients but their family, their livelihood and of course their long-term health, once a pregnancy is complete,’ she added.

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Health chiefs have provided £3.7 million to local healthcare systems to support the technology’s rollout to women who need it, which is part of a wider £60 million fund to make the technology available to other groups of patients impacted by type 1 diabetes, this year.

Earlier this month, an immunotherapy was approved by the UK medicines regulator to delay the development of T1D for people in the early stages of the condition – a first for the UK.