Purpose: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the incidence, preval
ence, progression, and risk factors of diabetic retinopathy during pre
gnancy. Methods: Sixty-five patients who were pregnant and had insulin
-dependent diabetes mellitus were evaluated before pregnancy, in every
trimester during the pregnancy, and 12 months postpartum. The medical
data included age, diabetes duration, glycohemoglobin, fructosamine,
hemoglobin, creatinine, uric acid, and systolic and diastolic blood pr
essure. Results: Progression of the retinopathy occurred in 77.5% of t
he patients who presented with diabetic retinopathy at conception; pro
liferative diabetic retinopathy occurred in 22.5%. Only 26% of the pat
ients who started the pregnancy without diabetic retinopathy had some
progression of the retinopathy. Duration of the diabetes was longer in
the progressive group compared with the nonprogressive group (P = 0.0
07). The glycohemoglobin was higher in the progressive group than in t
he nonprogressive group at each time point, but only in the third trim
ester was the difference statistically significant (P = 0.04). The hem
oglobin level was lower in the progressive group than in the nonprogre
ssive group (P < 0.01), The systolic blood pressure was higher in the
progressive group (P < 0.005). Conclusion: Understanding the risk fact
ors contributing to the aggravation of diabetic retinopathy during pre
gnancy is helpful in designing criteria for the team management of pre
gnant patients with diabetes.