Gestational Diabetes occurs in mothers during late pregnancies, at about the third trimester in the 20th week. This often happens to women who have never had diabetes but have high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. The exact causes are still unknown, but there are some clues. It is believed that the placenta’s hormones that help the baby grow, block the action of the insulin produced by the mom. This is called insulin resistance. This makes it difficult for the mother’s body to use the insulin, she may need about triple the amount of insulin that she would normally use. This does not cause the types of birth defects that would sometimes be seen in babies whose mothers had been diagnosed with diabetes before pregnancy. Untreated or poorly treated diabetes can hurt your baby.
When you have gestational diabetes your pancreas is working overtime to create insulin, but the body is not responding to the insulin being made, so it is staying in the blood. Even though the insulin does not go into the blood other nutrients and glucose do; Therefore making the baby’s pancreas produce more insulin than needed to get rid of that extra glucose penetrated into the placenta. This causes the baby to produce extra energy and this extra energy is then stored as fat. This can cause the baby to be born with abnormal birth weight, called macrosomia. Baby’s who are born with macrosomia may develop birth problems of their own including shoulder damage while passing through the birth canal. Also, since the baby’s pancreas has produced extra insulin, this can lead to the baby having low blood glucose level, jaundice and later on lead to breathing problems. Baby’s who’s mothers were diagnosed with Gestational diabetes are also prone to long term effects such as , obesity, and adults who are at risk for Type II diabetes.
Once you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes you must seek professional help as soon as possible. Treatment for gestational diabetes aims to keep the blood glucose levels the same as any other pregnant women without Gestational diabetes. Treatment always includes special meal plans and scheduled exercise. Sometimes it will also include blood sugar level testing and sometimes insulin injections.
Gestational Diabetes usually goes away after pregnancy. You are more likely in developing Gestational diabetes in future pregnancies. Many women who encounter Gestational Diabetes develop type II diabetes in years to come. Once again in order to reduce the chances of developing type II diabetes you should keep a healthy diet and exercise.
People who are more likely to develop the disease are people who have a family member with the disease. Are a member of an ethnic group such as, African-American, American Indians and Alaska natives, Asian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic /Latinos, and the Pima Indians. People who are overweight or obese, are 45 yrs or older, had diabetes while pregnant (gestational diabetes), have high blood pressure, have abnormal cholesterol lipid levels, are not getting enough exercise, have blood vessel problems affecting the heart, brain or legs.
A 2008 study found that more mothers are going into pregnancy with preexisting diabetes. The rate in mothers has doubled in the past 6 yrs. This is problematic because it raises the risk of complications during pregnancy, also increasing the risk of the child developing diabetes in the future.