A Brief Introduction to Gestational Diabetes
when mothers have diabetes before they become pregnant, because it occurs late in the pregnancy. At this point the baby is almost fully developed and is mostly growing in size. What can harm the baby is an excess flow of blood sugar from the mother's body. This causes the baby to have high blood sugar levels, and stimulates his or her pancreas to produce extra insulin. Too much insulin can cause macrosomia (an extra large baby).
While we tend to think of a chubby baby as being especially healthy, this isn't always the case. Oversized babies have trouble being born, and gestational diabetes can lead to birth trauma, especially injuries to the baby's shoulders. A baby who body has been producing too much insulin may develop dangerously low blood sugar after birth, when he or she is no longer getting a massive flow of sugar from the mother's body. Finally, a baby born with an excess of insulin can develop problems with obesity as children and type II diabetes as adults.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT
For women with gestational diabetes, the best way to avoid complications is to get and keep blood sugar as close to normal as possible. This is most often done through diet and, possibly, scheduled physical activity. Eating a healthy and balanced diet is important to all pregnancy women, not just those with gestational diabetes. However, if you have gestational diabetes your health care provider will give you special instruction as to weight gain and nutritional needs. Some women may also require daily blood testing and insulin injections.
As the pregnancy progresses, extra tests may be performed to monitor the baby's health and development. These may include ultrasound, amniocentesis, and kick counts. Occasionally, the baby may need to be delivered one to two weeks early, and labor is induced or a c-section is performed.
AFTER THE BABY IS BORN
Gestational diabetes generally ends with the pregnancy (there are some cases where woman have had an underlying case of type I or type II diabetes that is first discovered during the pregnancy, and they will have to continue treatment for their diabetes). Finally you can relax and enjoy your baby.
The American Diabetes Association recommends women who have had gestational diabetes have their blood sugar tested six weeks after the baby is born. If this test is normal, they should get blood sugar tested every three years or so. Remember, gestational diabetes puts you at a higher risk for type II diabetes.
You may also want to consider making some lifestyle changes to
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