I just made my appointment for the glucose screening test. This is common practice and most pregnant women are given this test. Nearly five percent of pregnant women develop diabetes during pregnancy. This is referred to as Gestational Diabetes. The screening test is done between 24 and 28 weeks and is used to identify women who may be at risk for developing this condition.
The test is relatively simple. When you arrive at the office or lab, you are given a glucose solution to drink. This is very sweet and comes in a variety of flavors, such as orange, cola and grape. This is the part I hate most. Somehow, I keep ending up with the orange flavor, which I hate. The colder the solution, the easier it goes down.
After you drink the solution, you will wait an hour and then have your blood drawn. The test is checking to see how your body is processing the sugar in the solution. If the test comes back elevated, you will need to be checked again with a three hour test. Don’t worry right away if this happens to you. Between 15 and 20 percent of all pregnant women have an elevated level on the screening test.
I failed the first test with my first pregnancy. The nurse had told me to eat a normal lunch before coming in for the test. Unfortunately, a co worker had a birthday that day. I ate my lunch and a big piece of birthday cake before leaving work for the doctor’s office. Then I drank the solution on top of it all. I never made this mistake again and the screening test came out fine during my next two pregnancies.
If your level is elevated after the one hour screening test, you will be asked to come back for the three hour test. You will be asked to fast for eight hours prior to the test. For this reason, it is usually done in the morning. The technician will draw your blood to get the fasting level. Then you will be given a more concentrated solution to drink. Your blood will be drawn every hour for three hours to determine how well your body is processing the sugar.