Gestational Diabetes
What is it?
Gestational diabetes is a type of high blood
sugar that develops in pregnant women. Diabetes is
a condition where the body does not make enough
insulin or the insulin doesn’t break down sugar in
the blood properly. Gestational diabetes usually
affects the second half of pregnancy, and usually
goes away after the woman gives birth.
Who gets it?
Gestational diabetes affects nearly 135,000
pregnant women each year, or about four percent of
all pregnancies, making it one of the top health
concerns related to pregnancy.
A woman may be at a greater risk for developing
gestational diabetes if she delivered a still born
baby or a large baby (over nine pounds) in the
past, has family members with diabetes, has high
blood pressure or gains too much weight during
pregnancy, is over 30 years old, or is overweight.
What causes it?
Gestational diabetes occurs when hormones
produced by the placenta (tissue connecting unborn
baby to the uterus) changes the way insulin in the
body works. Insulin moves glucose (sugar) out of
the blood and into the cells of the body. In women
with gestational diabetes, the glucose can’t get
into the cells so the amount of glucose in the
blood continues to build.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of gestational diabetes include
intense thirst and hunger, the need to urinate
often and tiredness. Blurred vision may be another
symptom. In addition, an ultrasound test may
reveal too much fluid around the unborn baby,
which is another symptom of gestational diabetes.
How is it diagnosed?
To diagnose gestational diabetes, the doctor
may ask the patient to under a blood sugar test.
The patient will be asked to consume several
ounces of a sugary drink. After a certain amount
of time, the doctor will take a sample of the
patient’s blood to check sugar levels. If the
level of sugar in the blood is high, the doctor
may recommend the patient undergo another blood
test.
In the next test, blood is drawn from a vein in
the patient's arm after a period at least eight
hours when the patient has not eaten, usually in
the morning before breakfast. The patient will
then be asked to drink another sugary drink, and
have blood drawn every hour for several hours to
test how the body is handling the sugar in the
blood over a period of time. The red blood cells
are separated from the sample and the amount of
glucose is measured in the remaining plasma.
What is the treatment?
Gestational diabetes can put women at greater
risk for birth complications if left untreated.
Without treatment, women with this condition could
have very large babies, and as result, have
difficult labor and deliveries. Some patients will
need to surgery to deliver their larger babies,
which can increase the patient’s risk of infection
and lengthen recovery time.
The patient diagnosed with gestational diabetes
should follow her doctor’s recommended treatment
plan to keep the condition under control. The
doctor may recommend testing the patient’s blood
sugar level, eat a healthy diet, and exercise.
Some patients also need to take insulin as part of
their treatment.
Self-care tips
Most women diagnosed with gestational diabetes
have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies
because they follow recommended treatment and
control their blood sugar level. Usually
gestational diabetes goes away after the baby is
born.
This information has been designed as a comprehensive and quick reference
guide written by our health care reviewers. The health information written
by our authors is intended to be a supplement to the care provided by your
physician. It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for
professional medical advice.
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