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Women's Health
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Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that starts during pregnancy. Like other forms of diabetes, it affects the way that your body uses glucose (sugar) so that your glucose blood level becomes higher than normal. Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of all pregnant women. It usually begins during the fifth or sixth month of pregnancy. Most of the time, it will go away after the baby is born, although more than half the women with gestational diabetes will develop type 2 diabetes later in life and be subject to health complications, such as high blood pressure, kidney failure, heart disease and strokes. Who should be screened for gestational diabetes? Screening for gestational diabetes is a routine part of prenatal care. Most healthcare providers recommend that all pregnant women receive a routine blood test called a glucose challenge test between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy. If you have a family history of diabetes, a previous pregnancy complicated by gestational diabetes, or are overweight or obese, you should receive this test earlier in your pregnancy. How can gestational diabetes affect me and my baby? High sugar levels in your blood can be unhealthy for both you and your baby. If gestational diabetes is not treated, your baby is more likely to have problems at birth. For example, high blood sugars easily cross the placenta and cause your baby to grow very large (macrosomia). Large babies are more likely to end up having difficult deliveries, leading to birth injuries or Caesarean sections. In addition, babies of mothers with gestational diabetes very often develop low-blood sugar at birth that may require immediate feedings with intravenous glucose solutions. Babies born to women with gestational diabetes may also experience respiratory complications or jaundice. Finally, they have a much higher risk of developing childhood obesity and juvenile type 2 diabetes. Weight loss, increased exercise and healthful eating will significantly decrease the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. Once you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, there is a 60-70% chance you will develop it again in subsequent pregnancies. How is gestational diabetes treated? If you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, you will need to follow a special reduced-sugar, low-calorie diet. You will need to exercise and check your blood glucose regularly. If diet and exercise don’t control your glucose levels, you may need to take insulin injections or oral pills. Your pregnancy will need to be followed closely with ultrasounds and other fetal monitoring. Pregnancy is hard work for any woman, but it’s even harder for women with gestational diabetes. If you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, make sure you do all that you can to control your blood glucose during and after pregnancy. What should I do to prevent gestational diabetes? If you are thinking of getting pregnant, eat healthy, exercise and lose weight before you do. That will greatly decrease your likelihood of developing gestational diabetes – and that could be the greatest gift you ever give yourself and your child. Dr. Carol Major is a board-certified OB/GYN and maternal-fetal specialist at UC Irvine Medical Center, Orange County’s only university medical center, which has been named one of the nation’s best hospitals for gynecology by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit ucihealth.com or call 714.456.2911. |
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