Gestational Diabetes
A Health Care Article Contributed by Debra Stang
What is Gestational Diabetes?
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs only during pregnancy.
A pregnant woman becomes diabetic when her body cannot effectively use insulin. Insulin acts as a kind of key to let glucose (sugar) into the cells of the body. If the key does not work, the cells do not get the nourishment they need. The level of unused sugar in the blood rises sharply.
Gestational diabetes affects approximately 4% of pregnant women. It usually begins close to the start of the third trimester (around the 24th week of pregnancy). Gestational diabetes commonly disappears a few weeks after the birth of the baby.
Who is at Risk for Gestational Diabetes?
Any woman can develop gestational diabetes, but there are factors that put some women at higher risk than others. Women tend to be at higher risk for gestational diabetes if they are overweight, older than 25, have a close relative with diabetes or gestational diabetes, or have developed gestational diabetes during previous pregnancies. African American, Native American, and Hispanic women also tend to be at higher risk.
How is Gestational Diabetes Diagnosed?
Gestational diabetes is diagnosed with a glucose tolerance test. A glucose tolerance test involves checking the levels of sugar in a woman's blood while she is fasting, then having her drink a sugary liquid and testing her blood sugar levels three or four more times over the next two to three hours.
In a person whose is not diabetic, blood glucose levels will rise sharply immediately after the drink, but will quickly go back to normal. In a person with diabetes, blood glucose levels will remain high for several hours after drinking the liquid.
Why Be Concerned about Gestational Diabetes?
If left untreated, gestational diabetes can be dangerous to the health of an unborn child. Babies born to mothers with uncontrolled diabetes are at increased risk for jaundice and respiratory problems. Such babies also tend to be very large, which can cause complications for the mother during delivery.
What Can Be Done about Gestational Diabetes?
Diet and exercise are the two most important tools in controlling gestational diabetes. Women who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes should avoid foods that are high in sugar like cake and candy. Foods with natural sugar, like fruits, should be eaten in moderation. Many doctors refer women who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes to a registered dietician for help planning a healthy schedule of meals and snacks.
Moderate exercise can also help control diabetes, although naturally a pregnant woman should always consult her physician before undertaking a new exercise program.
Women with gestational diabetes may be asked to have frequent blood tests to check their blood-glucose levels. Women may also learn to administer simple blood-glucose tests at home, using a lancet to draw blood from a finger.
If diet and exercise fail to control blood glucose levels, a woman may need to take oral medication or insulin shots during her pregnancy.
A diagnosis of gestational diabetes is the last news any pregnant woman wants to hear, but with good medical management and a few lifestyle changes, gestational diabetes can be successfully managed.