Gestational Diabetes Treatment

By Womens Health Medical Group
April 15, 2016

If you have elevated blood sugar levels when you are pregnant, but don’t have a history of that, then you have gestational diabetes. In most women, their levels return to normal after delivery, but the condition merits attention.

High blood sugar can make your baby grow too large, which obviously will create issues at delivery. Plus, the baby may be born with low blood sugar. Also, women who develop gestational diabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.

The causes of gestational diabetes

Insulin is a hormone that your body makes to allow the proper usage and storage of sugar from the food we eat. The pancreas makes insulin, which keeps your blood sugar in the healthy range.

When you’re pregnant the placenta is busy making its own hormones. Some of these inhibit the insulin your pancreas is producing. This is called insulin resistance. If the pancreas in the pregnant woman can’t make more insulin to overcome the resistance then the woman develops gestational diabetes.

Symptoms

Gestational diabetes doesn’t necessarily present the same symptoms of typical diabetes. This lack of symptoms makes it important to be tested by the team at Women’s Health Medical Group for gestational diabetes.

These are typical symptoms of other forms of diabetes:

  • Increased thirst
  • Increased hunger
  • Increased urination
  • Blurred vision

Sometimes a woman may have diabetes before becoming pregnant without knowing it. Obviously, the symptoms above, particularly frequent urination and increased hunger, are part of normal pregnancy so they don’t necessarily mean the woman has diabetes. That’s why it’s important to be tested.

How do we test for gestational diabetes?

We screen for gestational diabetes between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy. An oral glucose tolerance test is used.

Treatment

Many pregnant women can control their blood sugar level by changing the way they eat and by exercising regularly. Once diagnosed, you’ll need to check your blood sugar level at home. You may also need to give yourself insulin shots to help control your blood sugar level.

Regular testing for a variety of conditions is important to every pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is just one of the conditions to be aware of. Call us at 817-346-5336 to schedule your appointment.

Blog Category- obstetrics

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