Gestational diabetes is the term used for the occurrence of increased blood sugar levels during pregnancy. According to Medline Plus, three to eight out of 100 pregnant women develop gestational diabetes (GDM) between weeks twenty-four and twenty-eight of their pregnancy. Technically, gestational diabetes means “high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) first recognized during pregnancy.”
If you happen to have been diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes before pregnancy, this means you have what is known as pregestational diabetes.
Although babies born to mothers with diabetes are at three times the risk for birth defects compared to babies born to mothers without diabetes, good medical treatment built around a healthy diet and exercise routine for the mother help produce normal healthy babies.
What are the risks of having diabetes in pregnancy?
1. Delivering a large baby: One of the main problems of diabetes during pregnancy is having a large baby leading to a difficult labor and delivery, and possibly a cesarean section, or C-section. Delivering a large baby through normal spontaneous vaginal delivery may put the baby at risk for shoulder dystocia, the impaction and difficult delivery of the fetal shoulders… for this reason, most macrosomic or large babies are delivered by C-section.
2. Congenital anomalies: No matter what type of diabetes you have, a healthy pregnancy depends on how well you manage your blood sugar. If you can keep your blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible throughout your pregnancy, then your chances of a healthy baby are as good as non-diabetics. Losing control of your blood sugar levels in the first eight weeks of pregnancy may interfere with the formation of your baby’s organs, and lead to heart defects or spina bifida. But with proper monitoring and control of your blood sugar these problems can be prevented.
3. Other complications after delivery: As additional glucose has entered the baby’s bloodstream prior to birth, the baby’s pancreas has made extra insulin in order to cope. Following birth, until the baby’s body has adjusted to normal sugar levels, this can cause the baby to suffer from hypoglycemia or low blood sugar levels. Although jaundice is common for all newborns, it tends to happen more often in babies born to mother with diabetes.
What are the risks for the development of gestational diabetes?
- you’re overweight or obese
- you have high blood pressure
- you have miscarried or had a stillbirth
- you previously gave birth to a large baby (more than nine pounds)
- you had gestational diabetes in previous pregnancies
- a strong family history of diabetes
What are the screening procedures for the diagnosis of gestational diabetes?
If you have even one of the above mentioned risks, it would be best to have yourself screened for this problem. Your doctor may suggest you take the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), a test that is usually done between the sixteenth to eighteenth week of pregnancy. The OGTT is carried out after a period of fasting, your baseline blood sugar will be measured after which you will be instructed to drink a sweet drink. A repeat blood sugar measurement will then be taken after two hours.
The key to the management of gestational diabetes is tight blood sugar control.