Gestational Diabetes and Pregnancy

Recyll Oraiz

Diabetes diagnosed for the first time during pregnancy is known as gestational diabetes (gestation). Gestational diabetes, like other types of diabetes, affects how your cells use sugar (glucose). High blood sugar levels caused by gestational diabetes can harm your pregnancy and your baby’s health.

When your body doesn’t create enough insulin during pregnancy, you get gestational diabetes. Insulin is a hormone produced by your pancreas that functions as a key to allowing blood sugar into your body’s cells for energy utilization.

Your body produces more hormones and undergoes other changes during pregnancy, such as weight growth. Insulin resistance is a condition in which your body’s cells utilize insulin less effectively as a result of these changes. Insulin resistance raises your body’s insulin requirements.

During late pregnancy, all pregnant women experience some insulin resistance. Some women, however, are insulin resistant even before they become pregnant. They have an increased demand for insulin when they first become pregnant, and

While any pregnancy issue is alarming, there is some positive news. Pregnant women can help control gestational diabetes by consuming healthy meals, exercising, and taking medication if necessary. Blood sugar control can help you and your baby stay healthy and avoid a traumatic birth.

Blood sugar levels in women with gestational diabetes normally return to normal shortly after birth. However, if you’ve had gestational diabetes, you’re more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Blood sugar levels will need to be checked more frequently.

There are two types of gestational diabetes.

A1 refers to gestational diabetes that can be managed solely by diet. People with gestational diabetes class A2 will require insulin Class or oral medicines to keep their condition under control.

Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes

Women with gestational diabetes may have no symptoms or mistakenly attribute them to pregnancy. The majority of people find out they have it through a routine test.

You may have noticed:

• You seem to be thirstier than normal.
• You’re hungrier than normal and consume more food than usual.
• You pee more frequently than normal.

It’s critical to get diagnosed with gestational diabetes so that you can start treatment to preserve your health and the health of your baby.

Because gestational diabetes normally appears during the 24th week of pregnancy, you’ll most likely be tested between those dates.

Your doctor may test you early if you’re at a higher risk for gestational diabetes. Early in your pregnancy, blood sugar levels that are higher than normal could suggest type 1 or type 2 diabetes rather than gestational diabetes.

Your doctor will perform a glucose tolerance test on you, in which you will consume a sweet drink containing 50 grams of glucose, which will raise your blood sugar. You’ll take a blood glucose test an hour later to evaluate how your body handled all that sugar. If your blood sugar is higher than a certain threshold, you’ll require a 3-hour oral glucose tolerance test, which involves doing a blood glucose test three hours after drinking a 100-gram glucose drink. Your doctor can also test you by giving you a 75-gram glucose drink and a 2-hour blood glucose test after you’ve fasted for 12 hours.

If your test results are normal but you’re at high risk, your doctor may test you again later in your pregnancy to make sure you’re still at risk.

Factors that are at risk

Gestational diabetes is more common in some women. The following are some of the risk factors for gestational diabetes:

Obesity and being overweight.

There is a deficiency in physical exercise.

Diabetes during pregnancy or prediabetes.

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a kind of polycystic ovary syndrome

Diabetes in a member of one’s personal family.

Having delivered a baby weighing more than 9 pounds in the past (4.1 kilograms).

Women of color, Hispanic women, American Indian women, and Asian American women are more likely to acquire gestational diabetes.

Will My Baby Be Affected By Gestational Diabetes?

If you and your doctor keep your blood sugar under control while you’re pregnant, your baby will most likely be healthy.

Doctors will check your newborn’s blood sugar level shortly after birth. If it’s low, they may need to administer glucose via IV until it returns to normal.

Gestational diabetes increases your chances of having a larger-than-average baby. It’s also linked to jaundice, a yellowish skin condition. With therapy, jaundice usually resolves fast.

Although your child is more prone than other children to develop type 2 diabetes later in life, a healthy lifestyle (which includes a balanced diet and plenty of physical activity) can help.

What other effects could gestational diabetes have on my pregnancy?

Ultrasounds may be performed more frequently to track your baby’s development. A nonstress test may be performed by your doctor to ensure that your baby’s heart rate rises when they are active.

If labor does not begin by your due date, your doctor may consider induction. This is because if you have gestational diabetes, having a baby later in the pregnancy can raise your chances.

Prevention

When it comes to preventing gestational diabetes, there are no guarantees, but the more good habits you can develop before becoming pregnant, the better. If you’ve had gestational diabetes before, making these smart choices could lower your chances of getting it again in future pregnancies or developing type 2 diabetes.

Consume nutritious foods. Choose fiber-rich foods that are low in fat and calories. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains should be prioritized. To help you attain your goals without sacrificing taste or nutrition, strive for variety. Keep an eye on portion sizes.

Keep active. Exercising before and during your pregnancy can help you avoid gestational diabetes. On most days of the week, aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity. Take a daily brisk stroll. Take a ride on your bicycle. Do laps in the pool. Short spurts of exercise, such as parking further away from the store or taking a short walk break, all add up.

Pregnancy should begin at a healthy weight. If you want to get pregnant, decreasing weight before you do so is a good idea.