What are the risks of gestational diabetes?
What are the risks of gestational diabetes?
Dec. 17, 2007
By BARBARA QUINN
The Monterey County Herald
Star-Telegram.com
Finding out you have diabetes when you are pregnant is like starting a diet on Thanksgiving Day. It just doesn't seem fair. But for about 5 percent to 10 percent of pregnant women, it's a fact.
Abnormally high blood sugar levels first identified during pregnancy is called gestational diabetes. It most commonly shows up in the second half of pregnancy. And it's all about hormones. During pregnancy, a woman's pancreas gets a workout. It must produce three times more insulin -- the hormone that directs energy (glucose) from the blood into mom's and baby's cells. Add to this equation a woman who is already "insulin resistant" (a risk factor for diabetes) because of obesity or other reasons and, whammo, you have gestational diabetes.
What are the risks of gestational diabetes? Moms with too much sugar in their blood transfer that excess sugar to babies who then get too big -- 9 pounds or more. Besides having more difficulty at birth, these big babies are more apt to remain overweight as children and are more likely to develop diabetes in their lifetime. The rainbow behind these clouds of concern is that gestational diabetes can be controlled to produce normal healthy children. Here's how:
Carbohydrate-controlled diet. It can be tricky to get all the nutrients a woman needs during pregnancy without causing high rises in her blood sugars. She needs several small meals and snacks every day, carefully controlled for sugars and starches. That's why medical nutrition therapy provided by a registered dietitian is the "cornerstone of treatment for gestational diabetes," according to the latest recommendations of the fifth International Conference on Gestational Diabetes.
Blood glucose monitoring. A woman with gestational diabetes needs to check her blood sugars four or more times a day -- from the time she is diagnosed until her little bundle of joy arrives. Why? Because women who are able to maintain their blood sugars within strict boundaries during pregnancy have babies who are much better off than moms whose blood sugars get out of control.
Exercise that is safe for pregnancy. A reasonable goal for most healthy pregnant women is to walk 30 minutes a day. Even a few arm exercises for 10 minutes after each meal can help keep blood sugars under control, say experts.
Take extra insulin if needed. Twenty percent of women with gestational diabetes require insulin to control blood sugars -- even when they are following a good diet and getting adequate exercise.
After baby is born, gestational diabetes usually resolves itself -- at least temporarily.
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