Diabetes - What Pregnant Women Need to Know

Statistics coming from the American Diabetes Association indicate that more or less four percent of expectant mothers gets to experience gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes occurs when pregnant women who never have had diabetes before experience high blood sugar levels during their pregnancy, particularly at the latter period. Estimates put around 135,000 cases of pregnant women having gestational diabetes in the US every year.

Women who experience gestational diabetes are not likely to develop Type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes is occasioned by the inability of pregnant women to put into their system insulin which their bodies produce naturally. The pregnancy-related hormones they produce make them insulin resistant. It is under this condition that expectant mothers get to develop high levels of blood sugar, which is also known as hyperglycemia.

It is normal for women with gestational diabetes to be treated even while they are pregnant. Birth defects linked to gestational diabetes, or to diabetes contracted prior to pregnancy, are not usual. Thus there may no need for much concern for babies going through this condition. The problem, however, can arise when gestational diabetes is allowed to go on untreated. The mother has excess blood sugar, which means the unborn child is receiving more than her or his share of fat and energy. This condition can lead to macrosomia, or fat baby.

Regardless of how most people may think that being fat is indicative of the baby being healthy, a child who is too fat has problems when the time for his birth comes. He might be too big to fit through his mother's birth canal. Such a condition will almost always require delivery by cesarean section. Moreover, overweight babies often experience breathing problems and may eventually, if they stay obese, develop Type 2 diabetes themselves.

It is good, however, that treatment for gestational diabetes is readily available. Doctors normally prescribe doses of insulin for the mother to restore her blood sugar to normal levels. Women who want pregnancy can prevent having gestational diabetes by preparing for it physically. The physical regimen includes regular exercise, weight loss, and taking a healthy diet. Women who are planning for pregnancy should also find the Glycemic Index useful. The Glycemic Index helps people identify which foods to avoid to prevent diabetes or for diabetics to help them contain the disease.

Pregnant women need, and should follow, doctor's advice with respect to exercise and diet, particularly with regards to carbohydrate intake. Even before they get pregnant, women would always do well to consult their doctors on matters concerning their weight and on ways of preventing diabetes. Professional advice is important for women to avoid complications during their pregnancy.

A pregnant woman who gets a diagnosis for gestational diabetes, as well as her child, has little risks of developing Type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes can be treated easily and is not alarming. Pregnant women can access plenty of medical care for their condition. What they need to do is follow what their doctors say.