California Diabetes & Pregnancy Program/Sweet Success

Overview

To facilitate the development of diabetes and pregnancy education programs, California Diabetes & Pregnancy Program (CDAPP) regional units were established. The regional program unit consists of a multidisciplinary team with includes a program coordinator, a diabetes nurse educator, a registered dietitian, and a social worker or behavioral medicine specialist who work with a medical director.

Our Purpose

The goal of CDAPP is to improve pregnancy outcomes for women who have overt diabetes prior to conception and for women who develop gestational diabetes, by reducing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity for this group of high-risk perinatal patients to a level near that of the normal low-risk perinatal population.

Programs and Activities

To facilitate the development of diabetes and pregnancy education programs, CDAPP regional program units were established. The regional program unit consists of a multidisciplinary team which includes a program coordinator, a diabetes nurse educator, a registered dietitian, and a social worker or behavioral medicine specialist who work with a medical director.

This multidisciplinary team is responsible for educating providers who want to become clinical affiliate units. The Sweet Success Guidelines for Care provide the basis of this training. Clinical affiliates provide comprehensive educational services to their patients. Consultation from the regional team is ongoing. As a result, an established network of specially educated providers and agencies coordinate and provide appropriate care to women with diabetes during the preconception, throughout the pregnancy, and in the postpartum period.

The Sweet Success Model of Care

The Sweet Success model of care allows for diabetes and pregnancy education programs and resouces to be available to pre-pregnant, pregnant, and post-partum women with diabetes. Resources are available at local clinical units throughout California. Sweet Success emphasizes:

Early recruitment into diabetes and pregnancy programs:
Provision of outpatient-based comprehensive patient education, nutrition, psychosocial, and medical services; and
Active patient participation in managing diet, insulin, and exercise regimens necessary for optimal blood glucose control.

Women who achieve and maintain near normal blood glucose levels both prior to and following conception can significantly reduce the complications associated with pregnancy and diabetes.

Click here to visit the State of California Diabetes & Pregnancy Program/Sweet Success.

Click here to download the CDAPP/Sweet Success article in the Today publication.