Be Aware Of Gestational Diabetes During Pregnancy!

Are you a 24 week pregnant woman? If yes, then it is very essential for you to get it tested for gestational diabetes.

Like other forms of diabetes, this gestational diabetes mainly affects the usage of your body glucose, the main fuel for your body to function properly.

Most pregnant women tend to be asymptomatic and don’t have any signs of this dreadful condition, which can raise many complications in pregnancy.

If you have gestational diabetes during your pregnancy, the hormones present in the placenta, which helps in the growth of the fetus, gets blocked under the influence of the insulin present in your body.

This condition of blocking is usually referred as insulin resistance, which makes it hard to use insulin in proper way and results in hyperglycemia [Effects of fluctuations in blood sugar level].

Is the unborn offspring at risk?

Gestational diabetes mainly affects you in later stages of your pregnancy, after the baby has been developed and also during the growth of your fetus. Therefore, it doesn’t cause any harm to your unborn baby, if it is treated well.

However, if you fail to identify this condition or fail to control your gestational diabetes, then it can lead to several birth defects in your baby and it also becomes a life threatening problem for you.

When you have gestational diabetes, your pancreas tries to put more effort in the production of insulin for your body, but this insulin doesn’t pass through your placenta, due to lack of hormones.

As a result, even the pancreas of your baby tries to produce extra insulin to get rid of the blood glucose. As the fetus is receiving more energy than it requires for growing and developing, this excess amount of energy is stored as fat in the body of your baby, leading to macrosomia.

What are the necessary nutritional and diet changes to prevent gestational diabetes?

When you have gestational diabetes, you should be very attentive and careful in choosing right food for better healthy pregnancy period [Gestational diabetes diet]. So, try to follow these necessary eating habits by taking appropriate suggestions from your personal health care provider.

  • Never try to skip meals and ensure yourself to take 3 small meals and also 2 or 3 snacks at regular intervals of time in a day.
  • Eat small but frequent meals without including fatty, fried and also greasy foods in your diet.
  • Ensure that you are getting essential vitamins and minerals through your regular diet and try to drink at least 8 cups of nutritious fluids in a day.

Remember to practice better exercise routines, which are suitable to perform during pregnancy with the advice from your doctor.