Various troubles may occur during pregnancy, such as morning sickness. Pregnant women are filled with anxiety and worries, and those without any troubles are rare.
Among them, one of the symptoms that you need to pay attention to is gestational diabetes. There are surprisingly many people who develop gestational diabetes and most people are surprised that they have become diabetic.
In this article, we will explain in detail the risk of gestational diabetes and how to treat it.
What is Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes is diagnosed as abnormal glucose metabolism after pregnancy. Glucose metabolism abnormality refers to a state in which the blood sugar level tends to be high, and difficult to lower down.
In cases where abnormal glucose metabolism has occurred before pregnancy, it is strictly distinguished from gestational diabetes mellitus and is called pregnancy with diabetes mellitus. In other words, gestational diabetes mellitus is limited only to glucose metabolism abnormality that happens only after becoming pregnant.
What are the testing methods and diagnostic criteria?
Diagnosis of gestational diabetes will be performed by blood tests received by all pregnant women during routine medical examinations during pregnancy.
Although blood sugar level tests can be easily understood by collecting blood, if it is found that the blood sugar level is high, a 75g oral glucose tolerance test will be carried out as a more precise examination.
It is a test to drink liquid like sweet carbonated juice, to measure fasting blood glucose or blood glucose level after a certain period of time just after ingestion.
This glucose tolerance test judges whether you have a case of gestational diabetes mellitus or not. The diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus are as follows.
Diagnosis will be made if the 75 g sugar tolerance test meets one or more of the following criteria.
Fasting blood glucose level ≧ 92 mg / dL
1 hour value ≧ 180 mg / dL
2 hour value ≧ 153 mg / dL
Reference: Pregnancy Diabetes Association
What are the risks of gestational diabetes?
Let’s take a look at the risk of gestational diabetes. First of all, it is about the danger to the baby.
- Hypoplasia
- Giant child
- Morphological abnormality
- Dysfunction such as hypoglycemia, polycythemia
- Fetal death
Next is about the maternal and childbirth risk.
- Pregnancy Hypertensive Syndrome
- Difficulty, miscarriage
- Complications of diabetes such as retinopathy and nephropathy
Reference: Japan Obstetrics and Gynecology Society Association
Diet Therapy
The method of treating gestational diabetes is through diet instruction. The blood sugar level rises by ingesting a meal, but if it is normal, it goes down gently after a meal. In the case of gestational diabetes, there are many cases where the blood sugar level does not fall normally after eating.
Therefore, diet therapy aims to improve the content of meals and meal time so as not to raise blood sugar levels unnecessarily.
Also, as weight and blood glucose levels are closely related, it is also important to control weight gain.
Insulin Treatment Or Hospitalization?
Insulin treatment is performed when the blood glucose level control is not successful with diet therapy or when it is necessary to control it more strictly.
Insulin treatment is generally a subcutaneous injection. Insulin injection before ingesting meals will normalize the function of insulin in the body and control the blood sugar level. There are safe medicines that can be used even during pregnancy.
About Labor and Postpartum
Are you going to have a Caesarean section? Just because you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it is not necessary to have a Caesarean section. Pregnant women with gestational diabetes have had a normal delivery.
However, what we would like to emphasize is that in the case of gestational diabetes, the probability of a cesarean section is 2 to 4 times higher. The reason for having to have a Caesarean section is, for example, when the baby is a huge infant. If the baby is too big, it can hardly pass through the birth canal, and a cesarean section may be an option.
Reference: Pregnancy Diabetes Association
Can breastfeeding be done?
Breastfeeding is no problem even with diabetic mothers. Breast milk does not have a bad influence on the fetus. Breastfeeding is recommended for one year after childbirth.
If your breast milk does not have a problem, go ahead and breastfeed.
Whether treatment is necessary after childbirth
Whether treatment is necessary after childbirth depends on your physical condition after childbirth. Be sure to take regular check-ups.
People diagnosed with gestational diabetes are said to have a high probability of having diabetes, a lifestyle disease, in the future.
Summary
It makes a mother very uneasy to be diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Those who are currently pregnant and
have been diagnosed as having high blood glucose levels should be worried as well.
Gestational diabetes can often be controlled through diet, lifestyle habits, insulin treatment, and so on. In addition to that, most women say that blood sugar levels are restored after birth.
For the sake of your baby, please devote yourself to treatment according to the guidance of a doctor and nutritionist. And do not forget to check your own health regularly and carefully after giving birth.
