Diabetes During Pregnancy

One of the most common complications during pregnancy is diabetes. The diabetes which occurs during pregnancy is known as gestational diabetes. It happens to pregnant women when their body does not produce the required quantity of hormone called insulin. However, every pregnant woman doesn’t suffer from gestational diabetes.

Reasons for gestational diabetes: When a woman gets pregnant, the sugar level in the body automatically goes up. So, the body requires extra insulin during pregnancy. And if the extra insulin is not produced by the pancreas to reduce the level of sugar build-up in your blood, gestational diabetes may develop. Having a high sugar level during pregnancy is not only harmful to you but also to your baby. Symptoms of gestational diabetes: Though there are no proper symptoms for gestational diabetes, those who suffer may experience the following. However, some of these occur in normal pregnancy, so it is very difficult to differentiate if you are suffering from gestational diabetes.

Extreme fatigue
Feeling thirsty
Frequent urination
Sudden weight loss
Feeling constantly hungry
Snoring more than usual

Complications of gestational diabetes: If gestational diabetes is left untreated, the following complications may occur.

Health risk to the baby
Baby grows much bigger than normal size making delivery complicated
Breathing difficulty for the baby
Jaundice may occur in the baby
Low blood sugar or hypoglycaemia may occur in the baby later

How to prevent gestational diabetes? In order to prevent gestational diabetes, the following may be helpful for the pregnant women.

Eating a healthy diet
Staying active by doing light work, walking or exercising
Maintaining a weight essential for normal pregnancy

Diagnosis: As part of the regular check-up during pregnancy, doctors do a urine test every time to check the sugar level in your blood. If the level is high then they will do a glucose tolerance test which will confirm if you are suffering from gestational diabetes or not.

Treatment: The risk associated with diabetes during pregnancy can be treated by controlling the blood sugar level. If you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, doctors normally recommend the following :