| What Is Gestational Diabetes? |
| Written by Michael Corrieri | |
What Is It?Nearly all women are tested for this condition because anyone can get it even if you have never had diabetes before now. If you have high blood sugar during your pregnancy, then you could be considered as having gestational diabetes, which is a term that simply means diabetes during pregnancy. About four percent of women that are pregnant will find out from their doctor's that the do have this condition. This amounts to nearly 140,000 patients every year, according to the American Diabetes Association, in the United States.The cause of gestational diabetes is unknown though doctors have a fair understanding of what happens and they do know how to treat you for this condition. Doctors believe that the placenta plays a role in the development of gestational diabetes. As the baby grows, the placenta supports it. The placenta has plenty of hormones many of which help your child to grow. Just like the other changes that hormones cause in your body, these hormones can block the body's ability to use insulin correctly. This leads to insulin resistance which is what diabetes is in most cases. If this happens to you, your body will require up to three times as much insulin as is normal just to get enough to properly digest food and use it in your cells. Gestational diabetes is the label given to this situation in which your body is not able to produce the necessary amount of insulin and the cells do not take it in correctly. Glucose, which is what food is turned into during the digestive process, can not be absorbed into the cells from the blood. This leaves too much glucose in your blood stream which can lead to hyperglycemia, a dangerous condition if it is left untreated. There are many ways to treat gestational diabetes. Your doctor may recommend a diet for gestational diabetes. He may also talk to you about other gestational diabetes treatment options including medications for the situation. IN most cases, working with your doctor will allow you to overcome any possible complications and it will lead to a healthy pregnancy after all. Yet, if you do not get tested for gestational diabetes or you do not take the diagnosis of this condition seriously, you could risk the health and well being of your baby. During your second trimester of your pregnancy, your doctor will test for diabetes. This test is standard across the board as most mothers will need to take it. It is called a glucose tolerance test which involves the ingesting of a large amount of sugary product and then the testing of the body's ability to absorb and remove it from the blood stream correctly. In most cases, doctors will administer this test as part of their overall treatment of you during pregnancy. Talk to your doctor if you have a history of diabetes or other health problems so that he or she can provide you with the necessary treatment and precautions for them. With care, you can overcome the risk of gestational diabetes and have a long, healthy pregnancy. |
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Information What Is Gestational Diabetes?
Information What Is Gestational Diabetes?