Gestational Diabetes
May 21, 2009
Gestation is a condition in which a female has conceived (she is pregnant). Therefore, gestational diabetes is a condition in which a female who has never been diagnosed of diabetes earlier in her life; gets diagnosed as diabetic during her gestational period (pregnancy).
About 25% of females suffer from this condition. It is generally reported as an incidental finding in the routine blood tests performed during pregnancy. It is believed that certain hormonal changes during gestation cause a resistance to insulin and hence an impaired glucose tolerance occurs.
Gestational diabetes is treatable. Limiting glucose consumption, diet modification, maintaining weight during pregnancy and exercising can easily control it.
Certain risk factors associated with the development of gestational diabetes are impaired glucose tolerance, overweight, older maternal age, previous pregnancy with high birth weight baby and smoking habit.
Although, majority of sufferers do not depict many symptoms but some females may show symptoms such as increased thirst, vomiting, increased urination, slight burning while urination and fatigue.
Diagnosis of gestational diabetes can be made by testing fasting blood glucose, random blood glucose, urinary blood glucose and by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).
Complications
Children born to such mothers are generally large for gestational age (fetus gets more glucose and becomes fat). Also, the babies are at high risk of developing hypoglycemia (fetus’s body produces more insulin in response to increased glucose), jaundice, hypocalcemia, polycythemia and respiratory distress syndrome.
Females with such a condition have high chances of developing type 2 diabetes (permanent) in their lifetime.
Prognosis
Females suffering with gestational diabetes can be taken care of by timely administration of medication, proper insulin administration, exercising and regular blood glucose level monitoring.
Babies born to such mothers must be breast-fed for longer period. On growing up, they must be encouraged to exercise and adopt healthy eating habits so as to minimize the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
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