Gestational Diabetes – What it is, Symptoms and Treatments

Gestational Diabetes – What it is, Symptoms and Treatments of this condition. Furthermore, Gestational Diabetes is known as gestational diabetes mellitus. Gestational Diabetes usually develops between weeks 24 and 28 of pregnancy . According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is estimated to occur in up to 9.2 percent of pregnancies .

If you develop Gestational Diabetes while you are pregnant, it does not mean that you had diabetes before the pregnancy  or will have it later. But Gestational Diabetes increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future. If poorly managed, it can also increase your risk of developing diabetes and add other risk factors for you and your baby during pregnancy and delivery.

Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes: It is rare for Gestational Diabetes to cause symptoms. If you do experience symptoms, it will likely be mild. They can include:

• Fatigue
• Blurry vision
• excessive thirst
• Excessive need to urinate

Causes of Gestational Diabetes: The exact cause of Gestational Diabetes is unknown, but hormones likely play a role. When you’re pregnant, your body produces large amounts of hormones , including:

• Human placental milk
• estrogen
• hormones that increase insulin resistance

These hormones affect your placenta and help maintain your pregnancy . Over time, the amount of these hormones in your body increases. They can interfere with the action of insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar . Insulin helps move glucose from your blood into your cells, where it is used for energy. If you don’t have enough insulin, or you have high levels of hormones that prevent insulin from working properly, your blood glucose levels may increase. This can cause Gestational Diabetes .

Risk Factors for Gestational Diabetes: You are at a higher risk of developing Gestational Diabetes if you:

• Is over 25 years old
• have high blood pressure
• Have a family history of diabetes
• I was overweight before getting pregnant
• Has already given birth to a baby weighing more than 4 kilos
• Had an unexplained miscarriage or death
• Are a high risk ethnicity

Gestational Diabetes Diagnoses: The American Diabetes Association encourages physicians to routinely screen pregnant women for signs of Gestational Diabetes . If you have no known history of diabetes and normal blood sugar levelsin early pregnancy , your doctor will likely screen you for Gestational Diabetes when you are 24 to 28 weeks pregnant. They will perform a one-step or two-step oral glucose tolerance test.

For the one-step test, your doctor will start by testing your fasting blood sugar levels. Then they will ask you to drink a solution containing 75 grams of carbohydrates. Then they will test your blood sugar levels again after one hour and two hours. They will likely diagnose you with Gestational Diabetes if you have any of the following blood sugar values :

• Fasting blood sugar level greater than or equal to 92 mg/dL
• One-hour blood sugar level greater than or equal to 180 mg/dL
• Two-hour blood sugar level greater than or equal to 153 mg/dL

For the two-step test, your doctor will start by testing your fasting blood sugar level . Then they will ask you to drink a solution containing 50 grams of sugar. They will test your blood sugar again after an hour. If at this point your blood sugar is greater than or equal to 140 mg/dL, they will perform a second follow-up test on a different day.

During the second test, your doctor will again start testing your fasting blood sugar level . Then they will ask you to drink a solution with 100 grams of sugar in it. Then, they will test your blood sugar one, two, and tree hours later. They will likely diagnose you with GDM if you have at least two of the following values:

• Fasting blood sugar level greater than or equal to 95 mg/dL or 105 mg/dL
• An hourly blood sugar level greater than or equal to 180 mg/dL or 190 mg/dL
• Two-hour blood sugar level greater than or equal to 155 mg/dL or 165 mg/dL
• Three-hour blood sugar level greater than or equal to 140 mg/dL or 145 mg/dL

The American Diabetes Association also encourages doctors to screen women for type 2 diabetes in early pregnancy . If you have risk factors for type 2 diabetes, your doctor will likely test you for the condition at your first prenatal visit. These risk factors include:

• be overweight
• be sedentary
• have high blood pressure
• Having low levels of good cholesterol (HDL) in your blood
• Having high levels of triglycerides in your blood
• Having a family history of diabetes
• Having a past history of pre-diabetes Gestational  Diabetes or signs of insulin resistance
• Having a past history of giving birth to a baby that weighed over 20 pounds
• Be of African, Latino, Asian, Native American, or Pacific Islander descent

Gestational Diabetes Treatments: If you are diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes , your treatment plan will depend on your blood sugar levels  throughout the day. In most cases, your doctor will advise you to test your blood sugar before and after meals and manage your condition by eating healthy and exercising regularly. In some cases, they may also add insulin injections if needed.

If your doctor encourages you to monitor your blood sugar levels , they may provide you with a special glucose monitoring device. They may also prescribe insulin injections for you until you give birth. Ask your doctor about timing your insulin injections in relation to your meals and exercise to avoid low blood sugar . Your doctor can also tell you what to do if your blood sugar levels drop too low or are consistently higher than they should be.