Problems during pregnancy can happen, even though women dream of a completely healthy pregnancy, complications can arise such as gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is nothing more than an increase in blood sugar during pregnancy.

A pregnant woman may or may not have developed diabetes before becoming pregnant, but most commonly, gestational diabetes appears during pregnancy itself. Most cases of gestational diabetes have a good outcome for both mother and baby, however, a pregnancy with gestational diabetes should be treated as a high-risk pregnancy and must be managed carefully.

Why Glucose Rises

In diabetes in general, not just gestational, the level of glucose in the body of the person affected by the disease rises considerably because the insulin produced by the pancreas is not in sufficient quantity to metabolize the sugar that is consumed during meals1.

With this, the extra sugar in the body circulates in the bloodstream and also begins to be eliminated in the urine. Specifically in gestational diabetes, the excess sugar is passed to the baby, causing them to have the same excess as the mother. Babies born to women with gestational diabetes can be large, weighing over 4kg, precisely because of this excess sugar in their metabolism already during their development.

What are the symptoms of gestational diabetes?

If diagnosed early in pregnancy, the disease can be easily controlled, and the pregnancy can progress without major concerns2. Staying alert is very important! Gestational diabetes can be characterized by symptoms that appear during pregnancy, symptoms such as:

  • Fatigue
  • Frequent infections
  • Excessive thirst and urination
  • Blurred vision
  • Sudden weight loss

However, symptoms of gestational diabetes should be investigated by a doctor, and simple tests such as a blood glucose test in a blood exam can detect gestational diabetes. However, there are specific tests that can determine exactly the level and amount of unmetabolized glucose and carbohydrates in the body.

The glucose tolerance test is the most commonly used exam to diagnose gestational diabetes. The glucose tolerance curve can be done in three steps: the first blood sample is collected after 10 to 12 hours of fasting.

After this sample, the patient takes a glucose load, a kind of very sweet drink. After this glucose load, blood is drawn again at one and two hours after the load, and this is called the two-hour load method.

Result of the Glucose Tolerance Test

The result of the curve is based on parameters which state that values up to 100mg/dl for fasting are considered normal, values up to 140 for the two-hour load, and above 100 and 200 for these times are considered pre-gestational diabetes or not.

Many times, some factors can interfere with the precise result of the test, such as excessive consumption of pasta the day before the test, so it is recommended that the pregnant woman restrict breads, pasta, and rice.

These foods should also be avoided by pregnant women who know they have gestational diabetes. Foods such as sweets, and excessive sweet fruits, and foods like potatoes should also be avoided.

Including fiber in the diet is essential! Foods such as apples and oranges can help control blood sugar, and sweeteners are not allowed during pregnancy, unless prescribed by a doctor.

Who Can Get Gestational Diabetes

Women who gain more weight during pregnancy are more likely to develop gestational diabetes, both due to weight gain and genetic predisposition. If the pregnant woman has a family history of diabetes, she should take extra care with her diet.

Women who are overweight prior to pregnancy also tend to have a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes. The biggest risks are for women with diabetes who do not control the disease before pregnancy, as they can develop more severe disease during gestation.

The chances that the baby will be born with problems due to excess sugar in the blood are much higher than for women who acquire diabetes during pregnancy. In most cases of pregnant women with gestational diabetes, the amount of insulin may not be produced in sufficient quantity to meet the needs of mother and baby due to the accelerated metabolism of pregnancy, so some pregnant women may need to inject insulin.

Natural foods are great for helping control blood glucose in pregnancy.

Treatment of Diabetes

The treatment for gestational diabetes is dietary control, however, in some pregnant women, controlling gestational diabetes with diet alone may not be effective, and they may need to use insulin3.

Dietary control should be carried out because stopping eating can cause discomfort due to a sudden drop in blood sugar, so eating every three hours properly and healthily is crucial. In any case, the doctor and possibly a nutritionist will closely monitor the pregnant woman who presents with diabetes during pregnancy.

Babies of Mothers with Gestational Diabetes

Babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes should and will be monitored more closely after birth. Extra care is needed, because right after birth, the excess sugar they were used to can and will drop drastically.

The pediatrician will take necessary measures and will certainly prescribe medication to help the baby transition right after birth, as the baby will have to get used to no longer receiving the amount of sugar they did in the womb.

Even babies of women who controlled their diabetes very well during pregnancy may have their babies undergo tests and a thorough evaluation by the pediatrician, but after this period, they will be released to the room like any other baby.

It is common to hear about giant babies, with 5 or even 7kg! They are considered super babies and were certainly born to a pregnancy with gestational diabetes. The doctor may suspect gestational diabetes due to uterine height or even the baby’s size on ultrasound, but will confirm it with tests such as the glucose tolerance curve mentioned above.

In the case of gestational diabetes, the woman returns to the same condition as before pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is a disease exclusive to pregnancy.

See also: Preeclampsia – What It Is and How to Prevent It

Photo: Olearys, Vir argentina