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Gestational Diabetes In Pregnancy:

During pregnancy, one of the medical complications that can arise include gestational diabetes. It is important to note, though, that having gestational diabetes during your pregnancy does not mean that you can’t have a healthy baby; it only means that you will need some more help from your doctor, and have to follow a list of simple things to do, to control your blood sugar.

After delivery, gestational diabetes disappears, in most cases. While gestational diabetes does increase the risk of suffering from Type 2 Diabetes, though it doesn’t necessarily mean that this is a definite outcome. Let’s look at gestational diabetes in a little more detail:

What Causes Gestational Diabetes:

During your pregnancy, your placenta creates hormones that may lead to an excessive build-up of sugar in your blood stream. In most cases, your placenta can tackle this by creating enough insulin to break up the glucose into energy. Cases where the pancreas cannot keep up with the sugar build-up, though, can lead to gestational diabetes. 

Who Is At Risk From Gestational Diabetes:

• Patients who more likely to suffer from gestational diabetes include:
• Patients who were overweight before getting pregnant.
• Patients suffering from high blood sugar levels, which were earlier not high enough to be counted as diabetes.  
• Patients who have a family history of diabetes.
• Patients who have suffered from gestational diabetes before.

Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes:

During your pregnancy, your doctor will consistently test you for high blood sugar, and to check if you may be at risk from gestational diabetes. Patients who may be at risk of gestational diabetes will be tested soon after the pregnancy is confirmed. Patients who may not be at risk from gestational diabetes, will most likely be test between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy.

While testing for this medical condition, the most common test will be to give you a sugary drink, to raise your blood sugar levels. Approximately an hour after this, you will be asked to take a blood test, to test how your body is being able to manage the sugar ingested. If your blood sugar level is higher than normal, you will be asked to fast for a few hours, after which another blood test will be conducted.

In cases where the results of these tests come back normal, but the patient runs a high risk of suffering from gestational diabetes, your doctor may suggest a follow-up test to rule out the possibility of this condition arising later in your pregnancy.

Treatment Of Gestational Diabetes:

There is no permanent cure for gestational diabetes. This medical condition, however, can be managed and controlled, to ensure that you have a successful delivery, and a healthy baby. For the most part, while treating gestational diabetes, your doctor will suggest that you:

• Regularly check your blood sugar levels, at least four or more times a day.
• Regularly do urine tests, which are used to test for ketones. This test ascertains whether your diabetes is under control or not.
• Make sure to eat a healthy diet, which must be in line with medical recommendations
• Ensure that you get enough exercise.
• Keep track of your weight gain throughout your pregnancy. Basis this, your doctor will be able to track the medical condition, and suggest appropriate forms of diabetes management, which can include insulin or other medicine for your gestational diabetes.

The Apollo Clinic Experience:

Gestational diabetes can be a scary medical condition to suffer from when you are pregnant. At Apollo Clinic, our team of diabetologists and internists will work closely with your maternity specialists to ensure that any case of gestational diabetes remain in control, ensuring that your pregnancy progresses without any issues, followed by the delivery of a healthy baby. If you feel that you may be suffering from symptoms indicating gestational diabetes, get in touch with one of our specialists immediately.