Gestational diabetes refers to a condition where a pregnant woman who has never had diabetes suddenly has high levels of blood sugar. Approximately 4% of pregnant women will experience gestational diabetes.
One of the complications of pregnancy is sometimes gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes occurs only during pregnancy. It is like other forms of diabetes in that it affects the way your body uses blood sugar (glucose). As a result, your blood sugar level is too high. Gestational diabetes left untreated can result in a variety of health problems for you and your baby.
Causes
Risk factors for gestational diabetes include:
African or Hispanic ancestry
Being over age 25 when pregnant
Birth defect in a previous child
Obesity
In gestational diabetes, the pancreas is not at fault. Instead, the problem is in the placenta. During pregnancy, the placenta provides the baby with nourishment. It also produces a number of hormones that interfere with the body’s usual response to insulin. This condition is referred to as “insulin resistance.” Most pregnant women do not suffer from gestational diabetes, because the pancreas works to produce extra quantities of insulin in order to compensate for insulin resistance. However, when a woman’s pancreas cannot produce enough extra insulin, blood levels of glucose stay abnormally high, and the woman is considered to have gestational diabetes.
Some of the symptoms of gestational diabetes can include:
you are more hungry than normal
you are more thirsty than normal
you need to urinate frequently.
Treatment of gestational diabetes
During pregnancy
Eating a balanced diet. Controlling the amount of carbohydrates in your diet allows your body’s naturally produced insuin to keep blood glucose levels within the acceptable range. Nutritional counseling by a registered dietitian is an important part of treatment for gestational diabetes.
Getting regular exercise. Following a balanced diet and getting regular exercise may prevent the need for insulin injections.
