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What is Gestational Diabetes?
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that is first diagnosed during pregnancy, and you’re more likely to get it again during a future pregnancy. Pregnant women who receive this diagnosis have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a serious medical condition characterized by chronically elevated blood glucose levels.
Glucose isn’t inherently bad for you; in fact, it is an essential sugar that fuels the body. The hormone insulin, produced by the pancreas, plays a crucial role in absorbing glucose from the bloodstream so it can be converted into energy.
With diabetes, poor insulin production or insulin resistance interferes with your ability to absorb glucose. This is why diabetes patients must continually monitor their blood sugar levels to manage their disease.
What is Gestational Diabetes?
During pregnancy, some women develop high blood sugar levels. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs only during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes can cause health problems in both the mother and baby. This condition is known as gestational diabetes mellitus or gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes typically develops between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy. Gestational diabetes often occurs in women who have no prior family history of diabetes.
Like other forms of diabetes, gestational diabetes impairs your body’s ability to absorb glucose and leads to high blood sugar levels. When you get pregnant, the placenta produces a number of hormones to help regulate the baby’s nourishment. Oddly enough, nearly all of these hormones impair the ability of insulin to do its job. This raises your blood sugar levels, and in fact, most women will see elevated blood sugar levels after a meal throughout their pregnancy. This is perfectly normal.
However, as the pregnancy reaches the later stages, it can become difficult for the woman’s blood sugar to level out. When her body detects a heightened level of glucose in the blood, it produces more insulin to try to get it under control. She could then develop insulin resistance, leading to gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes may also increase the mother’s risk of high blood pressure and preeclampsia.
Gestational diabetes can be dangerous, and it requires careful monitoring by an OB/GYN. Having the disease increases the baby’s risk of:
- Growing very large inside the mother, also known as macrosomia. May require a C-section for delivery.
- High birth weight
- Pre-term labor
- Low glucose levels
- Jaundice
Keep in mind that you can manage these risks with proper prenatal care and careful glucose monitoring.
Fortunately, most cases of gestational diabetes disappear after pregnancy. However, these women and their babies will always have an increased risk of diabetes in the future and must watch out for signs of the disease. Women who had diabetes prior to their pregnancy, whether diagnosed or not, will have the condition for life.
Causes of Gestational Diabetes
While there are often no symptoms, some may experience:
- Excessive thirst
- Frequent urination
- Fatigue
What are some Risk Factors for Gestational Diabetes?
Some women are at higher risk for gestational diabetes than others. Your risk may be greater if you:
- Are overweight
- Are 26 or older
- Have a history of gestational diabetes in a past pregnancy
- Had a very large baby in a past pregnancy
- Experienced a stillbirth in the past
- Have African-American, Asian-American, Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Latina, or Native-American heritage
Treatment for Gestational Diabetes
The most important part of treating gestational diabetes is keeping the blood glucose levels under control. Many people can do this with a healthy diet filled with healthy foods and regular physical activity. You may need to check your blood sugar daily with a finger-pricking device and keep a food diary for your prenatal appointments.
If diet and exercise alone cannot keep your blood sugar down, you may need to take medication or insulin injections.
Once your child is born, you should get tested for diabetes 8-10 weeks after the delivery. Even if the test results are normal, your doctor may recommend that you get retested once every three years. As your child grows, you’ll also want to keep a close eye on his or her health. Talk to your healthcare doctor about the warning signs of childhood diabetes, such as rapid growth or weight gain in the first few years of life.
Instructions for One-Hour Glucose Test
Below are some important things to remember before and after your scheduled glucose test.
- Coordinate your ride. You will need someone to drive you to your appointment.
- The night before your scheduled test, do not eat or drink anything (other than water) after midnight.
- An hour before your appointment, take the glucose drink. You have five minutes to finish the drink (for example, take the glucose drink at 8:00 am and finish by 8:05 am).
- Blood will be drawn an hour after the drink was finished (for example, finish the drink at 8:05 am. Blood will be drawn at 9:05 am).
- Notify the office staff of the time you finish your drink as soon as you arrive.
- Call our office at least one day prior to your appointment for any questions or concerns. Office hours are Monday thru Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.
- Download Glucose Test Instructions
