"Absolutely life changing" - delight as artificial pancreas helps type 1 diabetic with her dream to become a mum
A woman with type 1 diabetes has hailed the impact of her artificial pancreas in enabling her to start a family with her husband.
Amy Adams, 30, from the Portsmouth area, was diagnosed at two year’s old in 1997 and always knew that pregnancy was high risk for her with the condition. However, the advancement in technology has seen her benefit from the use of a hybrid closed loop system, known as an artificial pancreas, with Amy lauding it as having transformed her life.
The device, which detects glucose levels and transmits the reading to the delivery system which then determines the right level of insulin required. It gave her the confidence to start trying for a baby.
Amy said: “The technology has been absolutely life changing. My husband and I have always wanted to be parents, and the closed loop system gave me the confidence to be able to start trying.
“Having type 1 diabetes makes pregnancy high risk, however thanks to the Hybrid Closed Loop System, I was able to have a healthy pregnancy and delivery. My baby maintained a healthy weight throughout, and much of the mental burden was reduced.”
Amy gave birth to her daughter Aurora via a caesarean section in September 2025, with the device allowing her husband to keep track of her insulin levels during the labour.
She said: “As I had to have a planned caesarean, it was important that my glucose and insulin levels were well managed throughout. My husband was able to keep the system up to date throughout the procedure using the app on my mobile phone.”
It is not only Amy that has benefited from the artificial pancreas in her family, five years after her diagnosis Amy’s mum, Annabel Spencer, was also diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
Annabel said: “Before using the closed loop, a lot of your day was spent worrying if you were going to have a hypo (moments of low blood sugar which can lead to seizures or a coma) in case you got caught up in things you were doing.”
“I now feel safer and have more freedom with things like meals out where you have to guess the insulin requirements or physical activity without having to worry so much about levels becoming so high or low as the HCL will make adjustments to mitigate if levels are not in the targets sets.”
Both Annabel and Amy received their care from the diabetes team at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust ad they have nothing but praise for the team.
Annabel said: “The whole team have been fantastic throughout, sometimes in quite difficult circumstances. For example, when Amy was a toddler in those days, we would have to administer her insulin with a syringe, so to see the change with HCL by the time she had her own children is quite emotional.”
Professor Partha Kar, a consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust and Type 1 Diabetes & Technology Lead, (former National Speciality Advisor for Diabetes), NHS England said: “The benefits to patients who are now able to manage their Type 1 diabetes through the hybrid closed loop system are second to none.
“The removal of the constant stress that comes with having to manage your Type 1 diabetes cannot be underestimated. Through the advancements of technology and medicine we are transforming the quality and health of people’s lives.”