Gestational Diabetes During Pregnancy
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that only occurs in pregnant women. If a woman is not diabetic but becomes so during pregnancy, then it is known as gestational diabetes. Diabetes is an inability of the body to break down glucose, which is caused by lack of insulin in the body. A diabetic person either does not produce enough insulin or the insulin produced is not used in the way it should be.
Studies have shown that gestational diabetes effects 2-10% of all pregnant women and it usually first develops in the second trimester. It is a common pregnancy-related problem. Fortunately, in most cases, gestational diabetes is cured once the baby is born.
However, if you have gestational diabetes, you are at a higher risk to develop diabetes later in life. It has been seen that most women who develop diabetes during their first pregnancy have a higher chance of developing it in their next pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes does not have many obvious symptoms, so doctors usually test most women who may be at risk when they are in their second trimester i.e. after 24 weeks of pregnancy. There are basically two ways that you can test for gestational pregnancy. In the first type of test, women are made to fast for 4 to 8 hours after which their blood sugar level is measured. Then it is measured every two hours after drinking a sugary drink. This is known as an oral glucose tolerance test.
In the second way, a woman is made to drink a sugar drink and her blood sugar level is measured after an hour. If her level is considerably higher, then she is recommended for oral tolerance test, otherwise she is considered normal.
There are many ways to treat gestational diabetes. The first step is to keep your blood sugar level in the normal range by following a strict diet. It is important to measure the sugar level several times a day. It is best to have a diet plan recommended by your doctor, which can ensure that the blood sugar level does not get high.
It is also important to get light exercise on a regular basis. Make sure that you do not gain too much weight other than what is normal during a pregnancy. In some cases, women are also prescribed insulin to keep the blood sugar level in normal range.
The good thing is that gestational diabetes is not necessarily harmful for the baby. If you take care of your diet and health, there is no reason for the baby to be at any risk. Most women with gestational diabetes have healthy babies. If you follow all the necessary precautions then you can have a normal delivery and a healthy baby. For most women, the blood sugar level goes back to normal once the baby is born and they no longer have to deal with gestational diabetes.
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