Apr 05, 2011
The joy of motherhood comes with its share of problems and while being pregnant may be a wonderful experience, it is a fact that expecting mothers have to be extra careful about their health to ensure that the baby remains healthy as well. While women get regularly checked for all possible ailments during their pregnancy, one condition that is not taken too seriously even though it affects between three and five per cent of pregnant women is gestational diabetes.
This particular type of diabetes develops only during pregnancy and it is believed that the condition is caused owing to stress. However, pregnancy is a naturally stressful time for a woman’s body and mind and so the chances of developing gestational diabetes is already high by virtue of the fact that a woman is pregnant.
Cause and effect
Gestational diabetes is caused when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin and this results in an increase in the blood glucose level. It is important to recognise and treat gestational diabetes as soon as possible in order to minimise the risk of complications including:
* Hypertension.
* Kidney disease.
* Macrosomia (large baby).
* Increased need for Caesarean section and pre-eclampsia.
In addition, when a woman with gestational diabetes gives birth, the baby may be born with low blood sugars and jaundice. In fact, post-pregnancy, such women are at an increased risk to develop the type 2 diabetes.
Cure, don’t endure
Screening for gestational diabetes can be done between 24 and 28 weeks of the pregnancy. Usually 50 grams of glucose (in a drink) is given to the mother and the blood sugar level is checked an hour later. Most doctors consider the test positive if the blood sugar level is higher than 130 to 140 mg/dl.
The treatment for gestational diabetes, like so many other ailments, starts with lifestyle changes. The mother must make dietary changes, incorporate exercises in her daily schedule and if the condition gets severe, she must learn to give herself insulin injections.
Approximately 15 per cent of women with gestational diabetes will need to use insulin. One-third to two-thirds of women who have gestational diabetes in one pregnancy will have it again in a later pregnancy but once diagnosed, this condition can be managed effectively with adequate intervention and patient co-operation.
Therefore, even if you do have gestational diabetes, don’t be afraid, your pregnancy can still be a wonderful experience!
Dr Kamala Selvaraj is gynaecologist at the G.G. Hospital in Chennai
