Gestational DiabetesGestational diabetes is seen among pregnant women.
It is diagnosed during the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy. It is the glucose intolerance during pregnancy stage. It is not a life-threatening case and the blood sugar level usually comes back to normal once the delivery has taken place.
Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes
The symptoms of gestational diabetes mellitus are frequent urination, increased thirst and hunger, Weight loss despite having an increased appetite, tiredness and fatigue, nausea & vomiting, vision becomes blurred and bladder, skin and vaginal infections occurring frequently.
Although the mother/ woman with gestational diabetes mellitus has no threat as such but the child in the womb may suffer due to increased blood sugar of the mother.
The complications for the baby are large size at birth, low blood sugar level (hypoglycemia), jaundice, and birth trauma. In very rare cases, the foetus may die in the mothers’ womb during the later stages of pregnancy.
The risks for gestational diabetes increases in certain cases like obese women, late pregnancy, presence of gestational diabetes in earlier pregnancy, communities like African or Hispanic ancestry, infections that are recurrent/ repetitive, death of previous new born child or foetus, congenital malformation in previous child, etc.
Since the risk factor for the child is involved to some extent, it is safe to diagnose gestational diabetes mellitus. Oral glucose tolerance test is the prime test to diagnose gestational diabetes.
It is done between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy.
A registered dietician should be consulted who will lay down a diet plan so that the mother gets adequate calories and nutrients as well as maintain the glucose levels in the body. Hence, nutritional counseling is the first most important step. Insulin therapy is the last resort, but is required if the sugar levels are still high.
Self-monitoring of blood glucose levels should be done throughout the pregnancy period.
Both the mother as well as the foetus must be tested. From the babys’ point of view, this monitoring helps to find out the size of the foetus (to ensure that it has not overgrown) and keep a check on its health.
Special fetal monitoring is necessary to ensure the child’s well being. A sonography/ ultrasound and non-stress tests can be done to assess the foetus.
In the non-stress test a small electronic monitor is placed on the abdomen of the mother. It records the heartbeat of the foetus. The doctor assesses the relationship of the heartbeats between the pattern and the movements.
During movement the babys’ heartbeat is usually 15-20 beats more than its regular rate. These movement heartbeats are recorded for three accelerations and accordingly the status of the baby is declared.
Upto 40% of women with gestational diabetes get type 2 diabetes five to ten years after delivery. This is usually seen in the case of obese women. So there is a need to constantly check and eradicate any chances of diabetes in the future.
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