How To Not Get Gestational Diabetes

Dont Drink Sweet Drinks If You Have Gestational Diabetes

Cross off juice, sweet tea, soda, and any drink with added sugars from your gestational diabetes diet plan. Avoid foods high in sugar and carbohydrate content, says Heard. Sweet drinks are one of the fastest ways to raise your blood sugar, which is why they must be off your menu. Water is the best choice , but low-fat milk is also a good option.

How Is Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Diagnosed

The American Diabetes Association recommends screening for undiagnosed type 2 diabetes at the first prenatal visit in women with diabetes risk factors. In pregnant women not known to have diabetes, GDM testing should be performed at 24 to 28 weeks of gestation.

In addition, women with diagnosed GDM should be screened for persistent diabetes 6 to 12 weeks postpartum. It is also recommended that women with a history of GDM undergo lifelong screening for the development of diabetes or prediabetes at least every three years.

What Does The Blood Glucose Test Involve

All pregnant women are offered this screening test between 24-28 weeks gestation. When other risk factors are present, such as obesity, the test may be offered earlier and then repeated if initially normal. The screening test for GD is called a glucose challenge, which aims to see how your body is handling sugars. The measurement is taken 1 hour after you consume a glucose drink. This test can be conducted at any time of day as it is not a fasting test. If your blood sugar is normal after the challenge, you will not require any more testing. If it is high, you will have a second test. This test is done in the morning while you are fasting and will require you not to eat prior to the test. You will have your glucose tested before consuming a glucose drink and then tested again 1 and 2 hours later. If your glucose is higher than specific cut-off values, it means you have GD. See the table for more specific information.

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Tips For Dealing With Gestational Diabetes According To Top Obgyns

Alexandra Frost

Gestational diabetes can be a scary thing, but its important to know that you, or your loved one, are not alone and that you can still have a completely healthy pregnancy. Hear tips, tricks, and what to expect when dealing with gestational diabetes from top OBGYNs.

Between weeks 24 and 28 of your pregnancy, your healthcare team will do a standard screening of your glucose levels to test for gestational diabetes. In this moment, just when you are about to enter the third and final trimester of pregnancy, coming up on the home stretch, you may be hit with some shocking news you, along with 14% of pregnant women, have gestational diabetes , and your life is about to change.

We spoke to OBGYNs who have seen thousands of people thrive while living with GD to get some insight into what this experience may be like. Theyve revealed the tips and tricks, along with concrete medical advice they use with the people they treat, to ensure the calmest and healthiest path to a successful pregnancy and birth. Heres what they recommend.

How Gestational Diabetes Can Affect You

As mentioned above, gestational diabetes often comes with no symptoms, so you probably wont know that you have it until the doctor diagnoses it. However, gestational diabetes can still have an effect on you.

Gestational diabetes can increase your risk of high blood pressure while youre pregnant. Also, you may have a larger baby, which can make delivery difficult or require a C-section.

Gestational diabetes can also put you more at risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

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To Eliminate Gestational Diabetes Use Pyridoxal Phosphate Not Pyridoxine

Dont use the pyridoxine form of vitamin B6. Thats actually the inactive form of vitamin B6,which actually does not activate the receptors for this vitamin. Mostbut not allhumans can activate pyridoxine, but we have no way to know if you are in the pyridoxine-activating group or not.

To make sure the pyridoxine actually does its job, its best to use the active form, pyridoxal-5-phosphate , fortunately available nearly everywhere supplements are sold, usually in a 50 milligram size. Dont stop using your pregnancy multivitamin/ mineral supplement as it contains the rest of the B-complex vitamins which back up the pyridoxal-5-phosphate.

What Causes Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Although the cause of GDM is not known, there are some theories as to why the condition occurs.

The placenta supplies a growing fetus with nutrients and water, and also produces a variety of hormones to maintain the pregnancy. Some of these hormones can have a blocking effect on insulin. This is called contra-insulin effect, which usually begins about 20 to 24 weeks into the pregnancy.

As the placenta grows, more of these hormones are produced, and the risk of insulin resistance becomes greater. Normally, the pancreas is able to make additional insulin to overcome insulin resistance, but when the production of insulin is not enough to overcome the effect of the placental hormones, gestational diabetes results.

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Do Eat Carbohydrates On Your Gestational Diabetes Meal Plan

Brace yourself: Carbohydrates are an important part of your gestational diabetes diet. They are fuel for your body and for your growing baby. The average person needs 135 grams of carbohydrates daily, but if you have gestational diabetes, that increases to 175 grams a day, says registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator Meredith Nguyen, RD, who is a member of the diabetes self-management program staff at Methodist Charlton Medical Center in Dallas. Pregnancy hormones can make it hard to control morning blood sugar, says Nguyen, so you might be spreading carbs more through lunch and dinner. Eating a wide variety of foods, including whole grains, fruits , vegetables, and dairy products, will give you the carbs you need. High-fiber or low-glycemic foods will help keep your blood sugar more even and help you feel full longer as well.

Five Steps To Prevent Gestational Diabetes

Posted June 21, 2015

Approximately 135,000 pregnant women in the United States develop gestationaldiabetes every year. Gestational diabetes is an illness in which the pregnancyinterferes with the mother’s insulin production or its efficient use.

Thosewho are most at risk for developing gestational diabetes:

• are Hispanic, African American, Native American, Asian American or Pacific Islander
• are overweight before pregnancy
• have a family member with diabetes
• are 25 or older
• had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy
• previously had a very large baby or a stillbirth

Below are five steps you can take to help avoid developinggestational diabetes during your pregnancy.

1. Maintain healthy body weight. Discusswith your doctor what a healthy weight is for you during your pregnancy. Post-delivery weight management tips:

• Breastfeeding helps to get back to your normal pre-pregnancy weight.
• If you are overweight, just losing five to seven percent of your body weight can help reduce risk. If you weigh 180 pounds, losing just nine pounds can improve your health.
• Bonus: Shedding some pounds will also get you in better shape for the rigors of motherhood.

2. Getregular physical activity, if your condition allows it. This canhelp keep your glucose levels healthy. In one study, researchers found thatwomen who were physically active before and during their pregnancy reducedtheir risk by about 70 percent. The women got about four hours of physicalactivity per week.

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What Not To Do When You Have Gestational Diabetes:

Dont Beat Yourself Up:

While being overweight and not exercising does increase your risk of getting gestational diabetes know that perfectly healthy women who arent overweight, eat healthy and exercise do get it too.

Do not blame yourself mama. Dont waste a second thinking if I hadnt done this or if I had done this, no. You have it but there are steps you can take to insure a healthy outcome for you and your baby and that is the only place you need to focus your energy on right now.

Dont Fear The Finger Prick:

I was really emotional when I found out I had gestational diabetes and with all those emotions flooding through me I actually got a little worked up about having to prick my finger to test my blood sugar.

Im not usually afraid of needles or getting shots but the thought of getting pricked four times a day for the remaining 10-12 weeks of pregnancy had me anxious and depressed.

Im glad to report that you really should not give it a second thought ladies. It is not bad at all. Depending on where you prick and what finger it ranges from a small pinch to almost nothing. Im not lying sometimes if I get the right spot I think I didnt even get poked.

Dont Drink Sugary Drinks:

I was so guilty of this before my diagnoses. Water has been the last thing I want this pregnancy and I was drinking way too much juice, lemonade, and Gatorade.

Dont Eat Processed Foods High In Sugar And Carbs:

Dont Cheat:

Dont Hesitate To Call Your Doctor:

What Is Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Gestational diabetes mellitus is a condition in which a hormone made by the placenta prevents the body from using insulin effectively. Glucose builds up in the blood instead of being absorbed by the cells.

Unlike type 1 diabetes, gestational diabetes is not caused by a lack of insulin, but by other hormones produced during pregnancy that can make insulin less effective, a condition referred to as insulin resistance. Gestational diabetic symptoms disappear following delivery.

Approximately 3 to 8 percent of all pregnant women in the United States are diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

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Symptoms To Name The Doctor When You Yourself Have Gestational Diabetes

When you have gestational diabetic issues, its likely youll visit your healthcare provider regularly. However, if that you dont feel well between check outs or observe any unusual symptoms, contact your provider right-away.

These signs could indicate that their blood sugar is just too highest:

• feeling most thirsty
• peeing more frequently than typical
• experiencing really tired
• feelings nauseous
• blurry plans

The supplier have you can be found in for an examination and additional studies to ensure that your kid do really. If youre having difficulty keepin constantly your blood sugar at proper degree, their carrier can send you to definitely a specialist.

What Happens After My Baby Is Born

You may not need to have blood tests to check your blood sugar while youre in the hospital after your baby is born. However, it may be several weeks after your babys birth before your gestational diabetes goes away. To make sure it has gone away, your doctor will ask you to have a special blood test 1 or 2 months after you have your baby.

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When Can Changing Your Diet Prevent Gestational Diabetes

Women are generally advised to eat a balanced diet during pregnancy. This means making sure you have a varied diet rather than eating a lot of the same type of food, so the baby gets all the nutrients he or she needs. Most women can simply trust their appetite and dont need to follow a special diet.

According to the research done so far, the only women who benefit from dietary changes are those who are overweight or obese. They can lower their risk of gestational diabetes by changing their diet with the help of a professional dietitian or nutritionist. The dietary changes can reduce their blood sugar levels and help them put on less weight in pregnancy. In women who have a normal weight, dietary changes don’t have a preventive effect.

Research has shown the following for women who are overweight or obese :

• If they didnt change their diet, 16 out of 100 women were diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
• If they did change their diet, 6 out of 100 women were diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

But the studies didn’t provide any information about whether the change in diet also influenced the child’s birth weight, reduced the risk of complications during the birth, or helped to avoid the need for Cesarean sections.

Checking Your Blood Sugar Level

You’ll be given a testing kit that you can use to check your blood sugar level.

This involves using a finger-pricking device and putting a drop of blood on a testing strip.

You’ll be advised:

• how to test your blood sugar level correctly
• when and how often to test your blood sugar most women with gestational diabetes are advised to test before breakfast and one hour after each meal
• what level you should be aiming for this will be a measurement given in millimoles of glucose per litre of blood

Diabetes UK has more information about monitoring your glucose levels.

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What Can Help Prevent Gestational Diabetes

Some women can prevent gestational diabetes by getting enough exercise and changing their diet. But it’s not clear whether this also prevents complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

Womens metabolism changes in pregnancy. This can cause their blood sugar levels to increase temporarily. If certain levels are exceeded, the woman is considered to have gestational diabetes. Risk factors include being very overweight, having relatives with diabetes, and having had diabetes in a previous pregnancy.

Delivery When You Have Gestational Diabetes

When planning for the baby’s arrival, the doctor will access the size of the baby to determine if you can deliver vaginally. If you have been able to keep your blood glucose well- controlled, your baby’s weight is within an appropriate range, you don’t have any other pregnancy concerns such as high blood pressure, and you are not on medication, than your labor should proceed just as it would if you didn’t have gestational diabetes. Of course, your delivery team will monitor your blood sugar throughout.

If your baby is considered too large for you to deliver vaginally than you will likely be induced at weeks 38 or 39. You and your doctor may also decide that a cesarean section may be a better route for delivering the baby. Should blood sugar levels get too high during labor, the baby may release more insulin in response. That increases the risk of the baby developing low blood glucose after birth so a C-section may be considered.

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Are Babies Born Earlier If The Mother Has Gestational Diabetes

Field: Typically, thats not the case. There are not standard recommendations when people with gestational diabetes should be delivered. If the patient is well-controlled, she doesnt have other complications and the baby isnt too big, my goal is to have her go into labor on her own and hopefully have a vaginal delivery. The data doesnt really support inducing labor early. I have criteria for who Im worried enough about that I might consider an early delivery.

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Do Get Plenty Of Sleep With Gestational Diabetes

Research published in BMC Womens Health shows a strong correlation between not getting enough sleep and the risk of gestational diabetes. Snoring is also related to poor blood sugar control, which can be a consequence of not following your gestational diabetes diet. Although many women accept that poor sleep is part of pregnancy and raising children, you should let your doctor know if youre finding it impossible to sleep well.

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Watch Your Portion Sizes

How much you eat during a meal is just as important as what you eat. You may have been encouraged to have extra food or snacks because you thought that being pregnant means eating for two. Much as this might be tempting, it’s not true.

You do not need to eat any extra food in the first or second trimesters of pregnancy. In the third trimester, you may need around 200 extra calories each day, which is around half a sandwich.

Find out more about how much extra you should eat in pregnancy.

Research has also shown that the amount of carbohydrates you eat, rather than their GI rating, has the biggest influence on your glucose levels after meals. This means that even if youre eating well, you may struggle to manage your condition if youre eating too much.

Diabetes UK has more information about how to get your portion sizes right.

Dietary Recommendations For Gestational Diabetes

Diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy is called gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes occurs in about 7 percent of all pregnancies. It usually arises in the second half of pregnancy and goes away as soon as the baby is born. However, if gestational diabetes is not treated, you may experience complications.

The first step in treating gestational diabetes is to modify your diet to help keep your blood sugar level in the normal range, while still eating a healthy diet. Most women with well-controlled blood sugar deliver healthy babies without any complications.

One way of keeping your blood sugar levels in normal range is by monitoring the amount of carbohydrates in your diet. Carbohydrate foods digest and turn into blood glucose . Glucose in the blood is necessary because it is the fuel for your body and nourishment your baby receives from you. However, it’s important that glucose levels stay within target.

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How Is Gestational Diabetes Managed

If youre diagnosed with gestational diabetes, you may need more frequent checkups during your pregnancy. Your healthcare provider will check your blood sugar levels regularly. You may need to monitor your blood sugar at home with a tool called a glucose meter.

Some women need medication to manage gestational diabetes. But most women can keep their blood sugar levels under control with diet and exercise.