During pregnancy, your body changes to nurture and accommodate your developing baby. Some of these changes are trivial, like the dark line in the center of your tummy. Others like the balance of hormones that control your blood sugar levels can be significant.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated in a report that gestational diabetes could cause problems for you and your baby if not properly managed. However, you can prevent potential harm by closely controlling your blood glucose level.
This write-up contains all the information you need to control your blood glucose level with gestational diabetes.
What Is Gestational Diabetes?
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Gestational diabetes is diabetes that is first diagnosed during pregnancy. Also called Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), this condition often occurs during the second half of pregnancy. It usually resolves after pregnancy, and your blood sugar returns to normal. But, in about ⅓ of women, the high blood glucose may persist as type 2 diabetes.
Although GDM is treatable, it could cause problems for you and your baby if left untreated. These problems could be during pregnancy, delivery, or even after birth. However, proper management will give you a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.
What are the causes and symptoms of Gestational Diabetes?
Pregnancy hormones, such as estrogen and human placental lactogen, are produced by the placenta. They have an anti-insulin effect. They cause your body to resist the actions of insulin, the hormone that helps your body use the energy in your food.
Insulin helps your body cells pick up the glucose they need for nourishment. However, Gestational Diabetes fails to deliver this help effectively. Therefore, your blood sugar rises from the accumulation of unused glucose.
In most women, GDM does not often cause any symptoms. When it does, most of the early symptoms are attributed to pregnancy. They are often mild symptoms like:
- Increased thirst
- Increased frequency of urination
- Being more hungry than usual
- Increased tiredness
Factors that increase Your Risk Of Gestational Diabetes
GDM will occur in about 7% of pregnancies. However, women over the age of 25, or women of African American, American Indian, American Asian, and Hispanic ethnicity have an increased chance of developing gestational diabetes. Other risk factors include:
- Being overweight or obese
- Physical inactivity
- Previous history of gestational diabetes
- Prediabetes
- Having a closely related family member with diabetes
- Previous history of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
- Previous history of delivery of a baby who weighs more than 4.1kg (9 pounds)
- Certain health conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels
What Are The Tests Used To Diagnose Gestational Diabetes?
Testing for gestational diabetes is routine during your prenatal visits. Your doctor will often do the screening during the second trimester because this is the most common period when it occurs. But, if you have any of the factors mentioned above, your doctor may advise you to perform the test earlier.
Doctors use two tests to diagnose gestational diabetes mellitus: the glucose challenge test and the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).
The glucose challenge test or one-hour OGTT involves the collection of blood samples before taking a specially prepared sweet liquid. Another blood sample is then collected an hour after taking the liquid. Next, the two blood samples are sent to the laboratory to determine your blood glucose levels.
On the other hand, the OGTT is a three-hour version of the one-hour glucose tolerance test. It is done to confirm the diagnosis of gestational diabetes if the glucose challenge test result is elevated.
Gestational Diabetes Treatment
- Eat healthy foods
You should eat more whole grains such as oatmeal, brown rice, and brown bread. Fruits and vegetables should form a substantial part of your meal plans. Also, you should eat foods high in fiber and low in calories and fat. Avoid carbonated drinks and sweetened beverages. Drink plenty of water instead.
- Get Active:
Once you get the go-ahead from your doctor, aim for at least 30 mins of moderate-intensity exercises per day for at least five days a week. These could range from brisk walking to running or swimming.
Physical activity helps achieve the target blood sugar levels and is also suitable for your posture throughout pregnancy. Before the exercise, check your blood sugar level to be sure it’s in a normal range. You should also have snacks handy to munch on if your blood sugar level drops.
- Regularly check your blood sugar levels
If you have gestational diabetes, you should try to check your blood sugar level multiple times a day. You should get a glucose meter for this. Also, you may use blood sugar monitoring apps like Klinio to keep track of your blood sugar levels.
- Use your medications appropriately
A healthy diet and being active may not be enough to keep your blood glucose level normal. As a result, your doctor may prescribe blood glucose lowering drugs such as insulin and metformin.
How Can You Avoid Gestational Diabetes?
1. Pre conceptual counseling
The best way to reduce your chances of gestational diabetes is to prepare your body for pregnancy. How better to do this than talk to experts dedicated to this particular role.
Your family history, medical history, risk factors, and lifestyle are all discussed. For example, your doctor could recommend weight loss goals if you are overweight. In addition, he can advise you to be more physically active to better prepare if you are inactive.
2. Maintain A Healthy Body Weight:
If you are overweight and thinking about becoming pregnant, getting in shape reduces your risk of gestational diabetes.
A study by Susan Y. Chu of the CDC published in the Diabetes Care journal found that obese women have a 4-fold increase development of GDM. Being overweight doubles the risk, while severely obese women have an eight times likelihood of developing GDM.
3. Increase Your Physical Activity
Physical activity helps prevent gestational diabetes by improving your body’s glucose handling. It also prevents insulin resistance and pre-pregnancy obesity, important stepping stones to GDM. A study in the Obstet Gynecol journal concluded that physical activity reduces the risk of abnormal glucose tolerance and GDM.
Final Thoughts
Gestational diabetes is a fairly common condition in pregnancy. Factors like obesity, lack of physical activity, or family history could predispose you to develop gestational diabetes. However, preparing your body for pregnancy can help avoid it. Klinio offers a personalized meal plan and easy-follow-along exercises to help you lead a healthy pregnancy.
