What is gestational diabetes? Show Gestational diabetes is a condition in which there’s too much sugar in the blood. When you eat, your body breaks down sugar and starches from food into glucose to use for energy. Your pancreas makes a hormone called insulin that helps your body keep the right amount of glucose in your blood. When you have diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough insulin or it can’t use insulin properly, so you end up with too much sugar in your blood. This can cause serious health problems, such as heart disease, kidney failure and blindness. Pregnant people are usually tested for gestational diabetes between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. Most of the time it can be controlled and treated during pregnancy. If it’s not treated, gestational diabetes can cause problems for you and your baby. It usually goes away after your baby’s born. Once you’ve had gestational diabetes, you have a higher risk of being diagnosed with diabetes later in life. Who is at risk for gestational diabetes? In the United States, 6 out of every 100 pregnant people develop gestational diabetes. You’re more likely to have gestational diabetes if you:
Racism and risk of gestational diabetes Being a person of color is not a cause for having gestational diabetes. Researchers aren’t exactly sure why people in these groups are more likely to have gestational diabetes, but they have noticed some patterns in studies about gestational diabetes. For example, many people of color experience chronic stress and lack access to fresh and healthy food. These factors are known as social determinants of health. They are the conditions in which you are born, grow, work, and live. In many cases, the social determinants of health are related to racism. Racism and unequal living conditions affect health and well-being and increases the risk of pregnancy complications, including gestational diabetes. Racism refers to the false belief that certain groups of people are born with qualities that make them better than other groups of people. Racism isn’t limited to personal attacks such as ethnic slurs, bullying, or physical assault. In a racist culture, one group of people has more power than other groups. People in the dominant racial or ethnic group make important decisions that affect everyone’s lives. For example, they have a lot of control over the way that schools, health care, housing, laws and law enforcement work. This control means that people in the dominant group are more likely to:
In contrast, people from racial or ethnic minority groups who live in a racist culture are more likely to:
March of Dimes recognizes that racism and its effects are factors in the health disparities in pregnancy outcomes and babies’ health. We must work together to bring fair, just and full access to health care for all moms and babies. Can gestational diabetes increase your risk for problems during pregnancy? Yes. If not treated, gestational diabetes can increase your risk for pregnancy complications and procedures, including:
Gestational diabetes also can cause health complications for your baby after birth, including:
How do you know if you have gestational diabetes? Your health care provider tests you for gestational diabetes with a prenatal test called a glucose tolerance test. If your provider thinks you’re at risk, you may get the test earlier. If the glucose screening test comes back positive, you’ll have another test called a glucose tolerance test. After this test, your doctor will be able to tell whether you have gestational diabetes. How is gestational diabetes treated? If you have gestational diabetes, your prenatal care provider will want to see you more often at prenatal care checkups so they can monitor you and your baby closely to help prevent problems. You’ll probably have tests to make sure you and your baby are doing well. These include a nonstress test and a biophysical profile. The nonstress test checks your baby’s heart rate. The biophysical profile is a nonstress test with an ultrasound. Your provider also may ask you to do kick counts (also called fetal movement counts). This is way for you to keep track of how often you can feel your baby move. Here are two ways to do kick counts:
If you have gestational diabetes, your provider tells you how often to check your blood sugar, what your levels should be and how to manage them during pregnancy. Blood sugar is affected by pregnancy, what you eat and drink, and how much physical activity you get. You may need to eat differently and be more active. You also may need to take insulin shots or other medicines. Treatment for gestational diabetes can help reduce your risk for pregnancy complications. Your provider begins treatment with monitoring your blood sugar levels, healthy eating, and physical activity. If this doesn’t do enough to control your blood sugar, you may need medicine. Insulin is the most common medicine for gestational diabetes. It’s safe to take during pregnancy. Here’s what you can do to help manage gestational diabetes:
If you have gestational diabetes, how can you help prevent getting diabetes later in life? For most people, gestational diabetes goes away after giving birth. But having it makes you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Type 2 diabetes is the most common kind of diabetes. Here’s what you can do to help reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes after pregnancy:
Last reviewed: March 2022 What is the average weight of a baby born to a mother with gestational diabetes?By week 37, the average estimated weight for fetuses in the gestational diabetes group was about 6.7 pounds, compared to about 6.5 pounds in the normal glucose group.
Does gestational diabetes cause big or small babies?If you have gestational diabetes, your baby is at higher risk of: Being very large (9 pounds or more), which can make delivery more difficult. Being born early, which can cause breathing and other problems.
How does gestational diabetes affect baby growth?Diabetes that is not well controlled causes the baby's blood sugar to be high. The baby is “overfed” and grows extra-large. Besides causing discomfort to the woman during the last few months of pregnancy, an extra-large baby can lead to problems during delivery for both the mother and the baby.
Can gestational diabetes cause you to not gain weight?The rate of weight gain was decreased in over-weight women with gestational diabetes versus control subjects in late pregnancy (P = . 05). There was a significant correlation between maternal weight gain and birth weight in underweight (r = 0.46, P = .
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