What is dangerous gestational diabetes during pregnancy: symptoms and normal
Pregnancy and diabetes are a serious problem for expectant mothers. Gestational diabetes most often appears in the middle of the second trimester or at the 22-24th week of bearing the fetus.
Diabetes tests
Every pregnant woman is advised to take a one-hour glucose tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes . For the test you need to drink a heavily sweetened drink. Then sugar level is tested by blood sampling after one hour. If the level is higher than desired, then gestational diabetes is suspected and a second, longer test is prescribed.
The second test lasts three hours and is known as the three-hour GTT. If the sugar level is higher than required after this test, then the woman has gestational diabetes.
Treatment for gestational diabetes
Different cases of gestational diabetes are treated differently, and there is no magic way to cure this disease. Most women begin treatment by meeting with a nutritionist and applying a strict, lower carbohydrate diet.
This is usually enough to keep blood sugar levels in the normal range.
However, some women do need treatment with oral medications or insulin injections. In addition, women will have to visit their doctors more often for observation. Most likely, patients will need to be examined approximately once a week, and they will also have to undergo tests starting from about the 32nd week of pregnancy.
Pregnancy is a great time for many women, but some suffer with it more than others.
There are some complications that can occur during pregnancy. Many of them can be successfully resolved. If you are worried about your own health or the health of the unborn baby, then it is worth considering the prevention of gestational diabetes before and during pregnancy. Of course, there is not always time to think about preventing gestational diabetes, as pregnancy is often a pleasant surprise.
If a firm decision was made to conceive a child, it is important to learn about some things that a future mother must do.
- One of the most important is to lose weight. Gestational diabetes often appears in mothers who are overweight when moving into pregnancy.
- Women with gestational diabetes are required to check their blood sugar at least four times a day – after breakfast, after lunch, after dinner, and before bedtime.
Blood sugar levels are usually checked using a glucose monitor, which requires an injection in the finger in order to extract a small amount of blood from it for use on a test strip. The blood sugar level is displayed for approximately 15 seconds.
The sugar level for a woman with gestational diabetes should be below 150 for two hours after eating and below 95 after fasting or in the morning after sleep.
Diet during pregnancy
A diet that severely limits calories is not the best way to lose weight when planning to become pregnant. But in any case, this is an opportunity to prevent the occurrence of diabetes in pregnant women.
If the body does not receive enough calories and quality foods, then the desire to become pregnant may disappear, as it is in a stressful state. Instead, a healthier nutrition plan should be followed, which includes:
- whole grains
- vegetables,
- fruits,
- lean meat
- milk products
And stay away from lots of sweet desserts. This helps to prevent the occurrence of gestational diabetes when it is planned to become pregnant, so it is advisable to use this particular nutrition plan and stay on it before and after conception.
If you already have pregnancy and anxiety about sugar levels, then preventing the occurrence of gestational diabetes is not always possible. But the aforementioned nutrition plan in some cases can help avoid the onset of this disease.
In fact, if the expectant mother adheres to a diet recommended by a dietitian who is well versed in gestational diabetes, then this problem can be prevented, or at least prevent her from becoming more serious and thereby not take additional medications or take insulin injections. during pregnancy.
When a future mother thinks about diabetes prevention, she perfectly understands that it is important for her health.
Complications
There are also complications for a child with gestational diabetes, including the possibility of premature birth and excessively high birth weight, which can lead to cesarean section and other unpleasant consequences.
Complications from gestational diabetes are an increased likelihood of preeclampsia, children with a higher body weight and wider shoulders at birth, requiring a cesarean section, and stillbirths.