Gestational diabetes, also known as gestational diabetes mellitus, GDM, or diabetes during pregnancy, is a type of diabetes that only pregnant women develop. This condition happens in about five percent of all pregnancies. Ruth Olurounbi writes
on what this condition means and how it can be avoided. Excerpts
GESTATIONAL diabetes is diabetes that is found for the first time when a woman is pregnant. The body, experts have said, needed and use glucose for energy, but too much glucose in the blood could be harmful. When a person’s blood glucose (also called blood sugar) is too high, the person is said to be diabetic. As such, a pregnant woman is not required to have too much glucose in her blood because that would not be good for her baby.
Normally, the stomach and intestines digest the carbohydrate in the consumed food into a sugar called glucose. To get the glucose out of the blood and into the cells of the body, the pancreas makes a hormone called insulin. Now, if a pregnant woman has diabetes, it is either her body doesn’t make enough insulin, or her cells can’t use the glucose in the blood the way they should.
Instead, the glucose builds up in her blood, causing diabetes, or high blood sugar. Changing hormones and weight gain are parts of a healthy pregnancy, but both changes make it hard for the body to keep up with its need for insulin. When that happens, the body doesn’t get the energy it needs from the food eaten, and that is when diabetes occurs, Dr Motunrayo Adigun, an Ob-gyn expert explained.
She said untreated or uncontrolled gestational diabetes could mean problems for the unborn baby. Such problems include being born very large and with extra fat, making delivery difficult and more dangerous for the baby; lack of or low blood glucose after birth; breathing problems, among others. She recommended that if a mother has gestational diabetes, some extra tests like kick counts, to check the baby's activity (the time between the baby’s movements); an ultrasound examination, to see how the baby is growing; and special stress tests, be taken to determine how healthy the baby is. She warned also that untreated gestational diabetes may leave both the mother and her baby at increased risk of type 2 diabetes for the rest of their lives.
It has been said that often, women with gestational diabetes have no symptoms. However, experts are of the conviction that gestational diabetes may increase a mother’s risk of high blood pressure during pregnancy and a need for caesarean section at delivery if the baby is too large. It has also been said that if the condition is left unattended to, could lead to it preeclampsia in some women.
Preeclampsia or pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), which is also called toxemia, is a problem that occurs during the second half of pregnancy.
Dr. Olatunde Fawole, medical director of Bethel Medical and Diagnostic Centre, while answering questions on this condition, said it would probably go away after the delivery. But, there might a chance that the mother would develop type 2 diabetes later in her life.
Research has shown that women who have had gestational diabetes could avoid or delay developing type 2 diabetes later in their lives if they maintain a reasonable weight by being physically active for 30 minutes daily. They could engage in walking, swimming, exercises, or even dancing; followed a healthy eating plan like eating more grains, fruits, and vegetables and cutting down on fat and calories.
It has been warned that women who had had gestational diabetes should continue to be tested for diabetes or pre-diabetes every one to two years, as diagnosing diabetes or pre-diabetes early could help prevent its complications such as heart disease later on.
Experts on gestational siabetes believe that it is alright for women to breastfeed their babies after they were diagnosed with the condition. In fact, thepy pointed out that a child’s risk for type 2 diabetes may be lower if such a baby is breastfed and helped to maintain a healthy weight.
In an online journal of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, it was said that this condition could be treated if a pregnant woman knows her blood sugar and keeps it under control. “By testing how much sugar is in your blood, it is easier to keep it in a healthy range. Women usually need to test a drop of their blood several times a day to find out their blood sugar level,” it said.
Some of the ways to treat this condition is highlighted below:
-Eat a healthy diet – Your health care provider can make a plan with the best diet for you. Usually controlling carbohydrates is an important part of a healthy diet for women with gestational diabetes because carbohydrates affect blood sugar.
-Get regular, moderate physical activity – Exercise can help control blood sugar levels. Your health care provider can tell you the best activities and right amount for you.
-Keep a healthy weight – The amount of weight gain that is healthy for you will depend on how much you weighed before pregnancy. It is important to track both your overall weight gain and weekly rate of gain.
-Keep daily records of your diet, physical activity, and glucose level – Women with gestational diabetes should write down their blood sugar numbers, physical activity, and everything they eat and drink in a daily record book. This can help track how well the treatment is working and what, if anything needs to be changed.
source: tribune
No comments:
Post a Comment