subject: Gestational Diabetes- Diabetes Caused During Pregnancy [print this page] Gestational Diabetes is a medical condition in which a woman without previously diagnosed diabetes exhibits high blood pressure during pregnancy. It is caused when the body of a pregnant woman does not secret enough insulin required during pregnancy, leading to increased blood sugar level. Gestational Diabetes caused during pregnancy generally has few symptoms and it is most commonly diagnosed while screening during pregnancy.
During pregnancy, especially from mid pregnancy onwards your body needs to produce extra insulin to fulfill the babys need. If the body is unable to maintain this, you will have an increased sugar level in your blood. It is than you will develop Gestational Diabetes. This usually goes away after the pregnancy; it is unlike that of other types of pregnancy that last forever.
If your gynecologist thinks that you are likely to develop Gestational Diabetes, they should arrange for you to have a test. Test that undertakes the condition is oral glucose tolerance test, the test should be conducted within 24 or 28 weeks of your pregnancy. Two blood samples at an interval are required to conduct the test. Sometimes, your health care provider may also conduct your urine test so as to know the blood level. If your urine contains sugar this could be a sign of Gestational Diabetes.
Gestational Diabetes rarely shows any symptoms, but you may experience excessive thirst, tiredness, passing a lot of urine and blurred vision. The main reason behind the increased sugar level in your blood is that it causes placenta to your baby. There is a very small risk that your baby could grow large. A large baby creates problem in labour and birth more difficult. You may need to have baby by caesarian section. If in case, your baby is affected by too much blood sugar, he may have problems after birth such as low blood sugar and jaundice. Babies born to mother affected from Gestational Diabetes are likely to develop obesity and type2 diabetes later in life. Teaching your baby healthy eating habits will help him to prevent from any kind of disease.
If your body mass index is above 30 and you have already given birth to large baby weighing 4.5kg or more or had a Gestational Diabetes Pregnancy before you are more likely to develop Gestational Diabetes again. Even if you have a family history of diabetes for instance, any one from your family like parent, grandparent or siblings had the underlying problem, it is possible you can also develop the same at the time of your pregnancy.
Change in lifestyle, improving your diet chart can help you a lot to prevent from the Gestational Diabetes Pregnancy. Eat a balanced diet of whole grain carbohydrates, lean proteins and health fats. Regular exercise is helpful to keep the blood sugar under control. Its safe to do all sort of exercise like yoga, Pilates, walking and swimming. Quit smoking, smoking is neither good for you or for your child it increases the risk of Gestational Diabetes.
Call your health care provider if you develop the Gestational Diabetes or face the symptoms of diabetes. Keep track on your diet, follow the instruction of health care provider. Remember, controlling sugar level increases the chance of having trouble-free pregnancy.
