Essay on Gestational Diabetes

Amanda manages her gestational diabetes with diet. She experiences a few episodes of postprandial hyperglycemia, but does not have to go on insulin. At her 36-week

In gestational diabetes, this type of diabetes develops in women only during pregnancy. When a woman is pregnant there are a surge of varied hormones that are produced. These hormones sometimes lead to a pregnant woman developing resistance to the insulin just like the other two types of diabetes. It also comes about because the body cannot use the insulin that is produced, effectively. This usually affects a woman in her second trimester and goes away after the birth of the baby. Developing GD can put a woman at risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in her life or developing GD with every pregnancy that follows. It can also lead to certain health problems in their children like childhood obesity or the risk of developing diabetes in later life.

A form of diabetes that develops during gestation, or pregnancy, is known as gestational diabetes. It affects anywhere from 4.2 to 9.6 percent of pregnant women. During pregnancy, the placenta produces high levels of hormones. These hormones can impair the function of insulin, which leads to elevated blood sugar.

According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, “Pregnancy is having a baby or babies developing inside the body: filled with meaning or emotion because of what is going to happen or be said.” During these nine months, women have to care theirselves in order to reduce the possibilities of future complications for the baby and the mom. There are several illness that appears when the women are pregnant. One of them is the Gestational Diabetes. “In the United States, approximately 4% of pregnancies are diagnosed as having gestational diabetes mellitus,” affirm a group of author. P. Reddi Rani and Jasmina Begum define that “Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) as any glucose intolerance with the onset or first recognition during pregnancy. This definition helps for diagnosis of unrecognized pre-existing Diabetes also.” Although gestational diabetes continue to be a problem during pregnancy in the United States, doctors and pregnancy women work together to reduce the risk for babies.

Diabetes is when a mothers blood glucose levels are above normal, due to a lack of insulin. The pancreas is the organ that produces the insulin hormone. Insulin helps the glucose get into the cells.

As nutrients are supplied by the mother’s body; the placenta senses this action, and triggers placenta transport. Through the duration of the pregnancy increased glucose and placental transporters; are associated with diabetic women; who have experience increased growth of the fetus. Hormones such as insulin; play a significant role in the regulation of the placental transporters. This issue (insulin resistance) occurs when an increase of gestational hormones hinder the actions of insulin. The majority of pregnant women are evaluated around 24-28 weeks for the risk of Gestation Diabetes Mellitus; although that these women should be screened at the first visit (Escott-Stump, 2012, p. 552).

It is estimated that 1-14% of pregnant women will develop gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM) (Hieronymus, Combs, Coleman, Ashford, & Wiggins, 2016). GDM is carbohydrate intolerance developed during pregnancy and is the most common metabolic complication of pregnancy (Wilson, Dyer, Latendresse, Wong, & Baksh, 2015). Gestational diabetes has been known to have serious complications for both the mother and the infant (Gilbert, 2011). Management of GDM includes diet, exercise, education, and possibly insulin therapy (Kopec, Ogonowski, Rahman, & Miazgowski, 2015).

Even though it has long been known that women with preexisting type I and type II diabetes are at increased risk for adverse maternal and fetal outcomes, the relationship of GDM to various perinatal risks has been less clear. O 'Sullivan and Mahan developed Glucose tolerance test criteria for the diagnosis of GDM, nearly

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a form of diabetes that occurs in pregnant women who do not have a prior history of diabetes mellitus (American Diabetes Association, 2016). It occurs in approximately 7% of pregnant women across the world and 6% of pregnancies in the United States (Caissutti & Berghella, 2017). GDM occurs when there is insulin resistance leading to glucose intolerance or high levels of glucose in the blood. According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, most cases of GDM resolve once the pregnant female delivers the child (2016).

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus is a type of diabetes that was first discovered during pregnancy. According to Canadian Diabetes Association (2015), three to twenty percent of women develop Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). GDM is a result of increased insulin resistance or glucose intolerance. Incidence of GDM varies by age, body weight, and ethnicity. Canadian Diabetes Association (2015) mentioned that individuals who are at greater risk include women over 35 years of age, women who are obese, women with low physical activity, and women of Native, Aboriginal, Hispanic, South Asian, Asian and African heritage (Risk factors for gestational diabetes, para. 1). Infants of women with unmanaged gestational diabetes who fall under same risk group face problems like being fat at birth, blood glucose control problems after delivery and carry increased risk for diabetes later in life (What does gestational diabetes mean for my baby, para. 1).

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is defined as a glucose intolerance that has been diagnosed during pregnancy.1 GDM affects anywhere between 1% to 14% of pregnancies and is on the rise due to the global obesity epidemic.1 Such a large range is due to the differences in screening technique and diagnostic criteria. Those who have a higher risk include women who are obese, have a previous history of GDM, have a family member with type 2 diabetes, are a member of a certain ethnic group, older than 25 years, and/or have polycystic ovarian syndrome. 2,3 There is a higher prevalence of this disease among Native-American, Asian, African-American, and Hispanic populations.2

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) by definition is a carbohydrate intolerance that is developed or recognized for the first time during pregnancy (Chen, Chuang, Fang, Kuo, Lee, Li, Lin, NIen,Wu, 2017). With a drastic increase of GDM in recent years, attention and concern has been brought to the topic. GDM is linked to poor pregnancy outcomes including but not limited to; hypertension, macrosomia, maternal depression, neonatal hypoglycemia and stillbirth (Jagiello & Chertok, 2015). With these negative pregnancy outcomes, there is a much greater chance of NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) admission and that comes with the potential for further issues. To avoid these issues, proper detection of GDM is necessary for all age

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the different types of DM, also, describe gestational diabetes mellitus, drugs used for treatment, proper preparation, and administration, as well as the dietary plan. Also, explanation of the short-term and the long-term impact of the disease on patient and drug effects will be discussed.

Unlike type 1 and 2 diabetes, gestational diabetes isn’t permanent. It affects women when they are pregnant and usually ends after the baby is delivered (1, 8). The main causes of gestational diabetes are damage to insulin producing cells, resistance to insulin and genetic heredity. It is also believed that women that get gestational diabetes will have a higher possibility of developing type 2 diabetes (1, 8).

All pregnant women were screened with Carpenter and Coustan Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) [20] (threshold reading for 100gms glucose OGTT were fasting/1hr/2hr/3hr = 95/180/155/140mg/dl) in 2nd trimester of their gestation, but cases with strong family history of NIDDM were screened in 1st trimester for GDM. Patients who had less than two values> threshold OGTT values, were excluded. The age of the patients in this group ranged between 18-42 years. Patients with any other type of diabetes or impaired glucose intolerance were not included in this group.