Today I took my glucose test for my monthly pregnancy check-up… you know that gross orange sugar drink they make you swallow down without any food or drink before or after. Well I failed my test. I had failed it during my first pregnancy, but then passed the actual test a week later. This time I failed by a greater margin, so much so that they aren’t even sending me for the actual gestational diabetes test, they are just assuming that I have gestational diabetes. So now what? Turns out there’s a lot more at risk than just having a large baby. There could be life-long complications for both of us. So I guess two months of no candy (Halloween is coming by the way), cake or carbs shouldn’t be too big of a deal… if it means a healthier baby, better delivery, and a healthier me. Here’s what I learned.
If you don’t get your blood sugar level under control, your baby is at risk for a number of things. Too much sugar in your baby’s blood means that your baby’s pancreas needs to produce more insulin in order to process that sugar, which could lead your baby to gain extra weight. A large baby may be too big to fit in the birth canal and may get stuck, leading the doctor to have to use special maneuvers to deliver your baby which can lead to fractured bones and nerve damage. Worse, your baby could suffer brain damage from a lack of oxygen during this process. To avoid this, your doctor may offer you a cesarean section, which brings risks of its own to you and your baby. Your child will also be at risk for being overweight in childhood and adulthood, hypoglycemia after birth, breathing problems at birth, newborn jaundice, polycythemia, hypocalcemia, and heart defects. Finally, some studies indicate a link between severe gestational diabetes and an increased risk of stillbirth in the last two months of pregnancy.
If that’s not enough to convince you to follow the gestational diabetes diet and keep those sugar levels down, you are also at risk for a few things. Women with gestational diabetes are at a higher risk for preeclampsia, gestational diabetes in future pregnancies; damage to your body from the special maneuvers that may be used to deliver a large baby, and continued diabetes after the baby is born.
So what can you do if you’ve been diagnosed or are at risk for gestational diabetes? Cut out the sugars, eat a healthy diet as prescribed to you, get some cardio exercise in for at least 30 minutes a day, and take insulin if necessary. After your baby is born, continue with your healthy diet and exercise plan, and breastfeed your baby. Breastfeeding will help your child avoid obesity and future diabetes. It will also help you to lose the baby weight and avoid becoming obese yourself.