What are the symptoms
of gestational diabetes
Excessive hunger and thirst, frequent
urination in the 2nd trimester, recurrent vaginal infections and an increase
in blood pressure. It is always good to do a test for blood sugar, between
the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy.
I am still urinating
frequently in my 4th month. Could I be going in for gestational diabetes
Your body has to provide enough glucose
to the growing foetus. Since insulin regulates the level of sugar in your
blood, and ensures that your own body is well nourished, pregnancy triggers
anti insulin mechanisms to make sure enough sugar remains circulating in
your blood stream to nourish the baby. Sometimes it leaves more sugar than
is required by both mother and child. This excessive sugar is passed into
the urine.
In the 2nd trimester, this anti-insulin
effect increases. So there is no cause for worry as roughly 50% of pregnant
women show sugar in their urine. Most of the time, the body responds with
an increased production of insulin. However, about 1% - 2% of women may
be unable to produce enough insulin at a time to handle this increase,
or are unable to use this insulin efficiently. This results in gestational
diabetes or carbohydrate intolerance, which normally disappears after delivery.
What are the harmful
effects of high sugar? Dr. Mansukhani
-
For the mother - High sugar, or diabetes,
can cause miscarriages, abnormal fetus, and premature delivery.
-
For the baby? High sugar in mother
leads to a drop in blood glucose of the baby after delivery (hypoglycemia).
If I am a diabetic
mother, can I have a healthy baby
In the past, women who had diabetes
were placed in the high-risk category for pregnancy. However, with the
advances in modern medicine, this is not necessarily true. As long as blood
sugar levels are closely monitored through diet and medication, if necessary,
diabetic women should be able to have trouble-free pregnancies and healthy
babies. (But it is very important to control your sugar throughout pregnancy).
How can sugar levels
be controlled
Pregnant women who are diabetic should
follow a strict diet as prescribed by a trained nutritionist. They should
aim to reach their ideal weight before conception, rather than attempting
to slim down during the gestational period. Diabetic women should follow
a regimen of moderate exercise after consulting their doctors. They should
ensure that they rest adequately and must be very particular about monitoring
their blood sugar levels. This may involve testing blood sugar as often
as four to ten times a day. Remember that the key to a normal pregnancy
for diabetic women is that they maintain normal blood sugar levels.
