Savvy Women

Gestational diabetes is diagnosed when the woman is about 24-28 weeks pregnant. It is diagnosed by “oral glucose tolerance test” in which the woman is instructed not to eat for 4 to 8 hours. Then her blood sugar level is measured.

After checking the normal sugar count, she is given a sugar drink and after 2 hours the sugar level test is redone to assess abnormality in blood sugar level. If the woman’s sugar level is below 140 mg/dl then she is certified to be in the safe limit. However, if the sugar count is more than 140 mg/dl, she is diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

Causes

Gestational diabetes is more likely to happen in obese women more than 25 years of age and who have the following -

A family record of diabetes or prior experience of this disease in past pregnancies can lead to gestational diabetes.

Women who delivered an unusually large and healthy baby or a baby born with birth defects in the past can have gestational diabetes.

If the woman has an excess amount of amniotic fluid, she is prone to gestational diabetes.

Symptoms and risk factors

Symptoms of gestational diabetes can be assessed by the delivery of the baby and both the mother and child’s condition-

The blood sugar level of diabetic pregnant women becomes abnormally high.

Unusual hunger, thirst, weight gain or high blood pressure are signs of gestational diabetes.

Recurrent vaginal infection may be a sign of gestational diabetes.

Treatments

A planned and balanced diet devoid of sweets is prescribed to the diabetic women to keep the sugar level in the normal range of 60 to 120 mg/dl. The diabetic female should exercise at least 3 or 4 days a week to maintain the sugar level in the body by burning excess fat. Balanced food and exercises can help in maintaining the normal pregnancy weight gain which is vital for treating gestational diabetes.

In case of severe gestational diabetes, a weekly or daily glucose level test is advised to the diabetic mother. If all these treatments prove ineffective, then insulin injections are recommended by the doctors to control the blood sugar level in the diabetic lady.

Complications

If the disease of gestational diabetes is left untreated or is not properly controlled then the baby can develop certain complications that include- Macrosomia, jaundice, respiratory distress syndrome, possibly death after 28 weeks of pregnancy or in infancy. Gestational diabetes can occur in future pregnancies as well.

So the pregnant ladies must seek doctoral advice and get complete details of how to prevent this diabetes in future as well as present pregnancies.