Gestational Diabetes - What You Need To Know

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that happens among women who experience high blood sugar level in their pregnancy even if they never have had any history of diabetes.

This disorder poses a great danger to both mother and baby. The baby could develop congenital defects and chemical imbalance after birth which would make it necessary for the baby to be placed in neonatal intensive care.

Gestational diabetes mellitus happens when the body's insulin receptors cannot function well due to the  factors that affect pregnancy such as the presence of human placental lactogen that interferes with the susceptible receptors.

Gestational diabetes hardly shows any symptoms making the expectant mom unaware of her condition which needs urgent and immediate treatment. When this happens, she could experience pre-eclampsia during pregnancy and more likely give birth by Ceasarian section. She is likely to develop Type 2 diabetes after giving birth. The child, on the other hand, could grow up obese and eventually develop type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

Gestational diabetes usually disappears as soon as the baby is born. You have a 30 to 80% chance of developing gestational diabetes on your second pregnancy if you had it in your first one. Getting pregnant within one year of the first pregnancy could cause gestational diabetes to recur.

Women who experience elevated blood sugar levels can cope with their condition by following a strict low fat diet and regular exercise.