Gestational Diabetes and Pregnancy

According to the American Diabetes Association gestational diabetes, a condition that affects both pre-existing diabetics and women with no history of diabetes, is the most common pregnancy complication and affects about 4 percent of women. If this happens to you, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel - most women who contract gestational diabetes do not remain diabetics once their baby is born. However, gestational diabetes might return during future pregnancies.

What is gestational diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar. Your digestive system breaks down the food you consume into a type of sugar called glucose. Glucose enters your bloodstream with the help of insulin - a hormone created by your pancreas - and provides fuel for the cells in your body. Without enough insulin, glucose will remain in the bloodstream instead of being converted into energy. During pregnancy your body produces hormones that block the action of insulin; this is called insulin resistance. If glucose and insulin cannot work together, high amounts of glucose (or sugar) will remain in your blood.

How will gestational diabtes affect your baby?

Neglecting gestational diabetes can pass on high levels of glucose into your baby's bloodstream which causes your baby's pancreas to produce extra insulin. Because your baby is receiving more energy than it needs to grow, the extra energy is stored as fat (especially in the shoulder area). Your overweight baby might suffer from macrosomia - a condition that prevents a top heavy baby from entering the birth canal. In this case, your doctor may conduct a cesarean section to deliver your baby.

When can gestational diabetes occur?

Gestational diabetes occurs during the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy and usually without any symptoms. Around your 24th week of pregnancy, your doctor may conduct a gestational diabetes screening test. Normal blood sugar levels are 140 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or below, but if you breach this number, this doesn't necessarily mean you have gestational diabetes. Your doctor will conduct another test, a glucose tolerance test (GTT), to confirm his or her diagnosis.

If symptoms do occur, they are mild and include: blurred vision, fatigue, increased thirst, increased urination, and nausea and vomiting.

Who is at risk?

Likely candidates for gestational diabetes are women with pre-existing diabetes or mothers who had gestational diabetes with another pregnancy. Other risk factors for gestational diabetes include: obesity, older women, a history of diabetes in your family, and recurring bladder or vaginal yeast infections.

Maintaining Gestational Diabetes

With proper prenatal exercise and healthy dieting, you can help reduce or minimize the risks to your baby. Exercising helps your body use extra amounts of glucose without having to produce more insulin while specialized meal plans will maintain a steady blood sugar level throughout the day. Extra treatments might include daily blood glucose testing and insulin injections.

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