Gestational diabetes is a condition that occurs in about 3 percent of pregnant women. The condition is characterized by elevated blood glucose levels during pregnancy, and after the baby is born the mom’s blood sugars usually return to normal. This condition is very serious and can lead to conditions such as preeclampsia, postmaturity of the newborn, insulin resistance, heart disease and stroke.
If you have gestational diabetes, you have an increased risk of developing diabetes sometime in your life; therefore, it is important that you get your blood sugar checked fairly regularly, after deliverly, by your doctor. Even if your blood sugar levels return to normal within the first few months after pregnancy, you have a risk of becoming a type 2 diabetic sometime in your life.
Preeclampsia – Preeclampsia is a very serious risk for women with gestational diabetes. Preeclampsia is a condition that causes hypertension around the 20th week of pregnancy. Another name for preeclampsia that you may be more familiar with is toxemia. Toxemia or preeclampsia can put both mother and child in danger. This is why it is vitally important to have your blood pressure monitored closely during pregnancy. The only effective treatment for preeclampsia is delivering the baby. Delivering the baby too early can put the baby at risk for being born premature. A premature birth can put the baby at risk for health and developmental problems and even death.
Postmaturity – Babies born from mothers with gestational diabetes are usually born very large. Oftentimes, babies of gestational diabetics are born very large because they stay in the womb for longer than 40 weeks. Babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, from being obese. Both mother and baby can be at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Other risks related to gestational diabetes are similar to people with type 2 diabetes; they are at risk for cardiovascular problems such as heart disease and stroke.
Insulin resistance – Gestational diabetes, just as with type 2 diabetes, is related to a metabolic abnormality known as insulin resistance. With insulin resistance your body’s cells become resistant to insulin. Insulin is like a bridge that allows glucose to enter into the cells. Without insulin the cells starve from lack of glucose.
Can gestational diabetes be prevented? There is no sure way to prevent gestational diabetes, but you can lower your risks by eating a healthy diet and making healthy lifestyle changes before and during your pregnancy. If you are already a little overweight and you have issues with blood pressure, it is best that you work on these health issues before becoming pregnant.
Author’s note: Part of my nursing career was devoted to labor and delivery. One of the mothers I took care of suffered a stroke during her delivery. She never woke up. She passed away without ever seeing or touching her newborn baby.
Sources:
Mayoclinic.com
Medicinenet.com
Nursing experience
