Gestational Diabetes and the Impact on Your Pregnancy

It used to be that diabetic women avoided pregnancy and if they did conceive, complications almost always occurred. Today women with diabetes are able to have children. Special attention is paid to their diet and overall healthy but under the care of their doctor they will likely carry their baby to term without much risk.

Diabetes is a condition that results in a lack of insulin in the bloodstream. Insulin is important and helps break down sugar in your body. Without it you will have high blood sugar levels which can be dangerous. Diabetes can cause problems with your kidneys and vascular system including your heart. This can be worrisome especially during pregnancy when it can also have a detrimental effect on the developing fetus.

Luckily diabetic women can now take insulin and test their blood sugar regularly. They also do better if they follow a specialized diet and get plenty of rest and exercise to stay healthy.

Some signs of Diabetes include frequent urination, blurry vision, weight loss, increased thirst or hunger and dizziness. A blood test will help confirm if diabetes is present.

Gestational Diabetes is a term used to describe diabetes onset that only occurs during pregnancy. For most women who develop gestational diabetes, it goes away completely after their baby is born. Gestational Diabetes affects about 10% of all pregnant women and as many as 90% of them will become diabetic during subsequent pregnancies as well. It's thought that gestational diabetes occurs during pregnancy because the mother's body can't use the insulin properly and that is combined with a lower production during pregnancy.

If gone unnoticed and untreated gestational diabetes can be harmful for both mother and baby. A high concentration of sugar in your bloodstream is not healthy for anyone. One complication is a higher rate of infections during pregnancy in the kidneys, cervix, bladder and uterus. Another risk is that you may produce too much amniotic fluid which can overfill the uterus and cause premature labor. The baby may get huge quickly causing a long, difficult labor and delivery.

The good news is that treating gestational diabetes just takes a little more work and includes an intake in fluids, regular exercise and a healthy diet. It's usually recommended to eat more frequently throughout the day.

Many women are tested during pregnancy to rule out diabetes, especially if they have a history or family who is diabetic. A blood test can be done as well as a glucose tolerance test. For the blood sugar test you will eat the night before and then the morning of your test you will eat nothing at all. A small amount of blood will be drawn and evaluated by a lab. If the results of the blood test are normal then diabetes is unlikely. However abnormal results will require further testing to see what is going on. The glucose tolerance test requires no eating past a certain time the evening before and then nothing in your mouth the day of the test. You will need to drink a glucose solution (tastes similar to orange soda but it much sweeter and may make you feel sick). About an hour after you drink the sugar solution a fasting blood sugar test is done. This requires drawing a vial of blood and sending it off to the lab for testing. If the results come back abnormal you will likely have to do the same thing again but it involves a 2-3 hour glucose test where blood is drawn several times at intervals to test the amount of sugar present and how your body is handling it. If you do need treatment your doctor will come up with a plan for you to avoid any unnecessary risks and complications.