Gestational Diabetes Essay

Along with all the worries and complications a woman might face while pregnant, one of the more serious conditions is gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes occurs in 4% of all pregnancies (Seibel, 2009). Many women are not informed about the disease, some may not know that they need to be tested, and others may have heard about it, but want more information on what may cause it and/or how to prevent and treat it. Either way this disease needs to be taken seriously by every pregnant woman or woman planning to get pregnant to protect not only herself but the unborn child.

Most pregnancies progress with the mother being healthy, however in some cases problems do arise with the mother developing complications. This can in the form of gestational diabetes. Mothers who didn’t have diabetes prior to pregnancy exhibit high blood sugar levels, in most cases this is during the later stages of pregnancy, this could lead to pre-eclampsia and babies could be born with higher birth weights. If left unchecked mothers can develop type 2 diabetes post pregnancy.

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

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. Also, it is believed that women that get gestational diabetes will have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (1, 8).

Diabetes comes in multiple forms: type 1, or diabetes insipidus; type 2, or diabetes mellitus; or gestational, which occurs during pregnancy and may be either type 1 or type 2. Diabetes is a metabolic disease where the person has high blood glucose. (Blood glucose is also know was blood sugar.) When the person has high blood sugar it’s either because the insulin result is insufficient, or the body’s cells don’t respond to the insulin like it should, or both can happen. There are different types of diabetes. They are type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. Type 1 occurs when the body doesn’t produce insulin; type 2 is occurs when the body’s receptor cells no longer accept the insulin produced by the body’s pancreas. Gestational diabetes affects women that are pregnant. [What is Diabetes? (n.d.)]. There are symptoms of the different types of diabetes. The type 1 diabetes symptoms are increased thirst, increased hunger, dry mouth, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, and blurred vison. The type 2 diabetes symptoms are slow-healing sores or cuts, itching of the skin, yeast infections, recent weight gain, numbness or tingling of the hands and feet, and impotence or erectile dysfunction. Gestational diabetes often doesn’t have symptoms, however if they do they are increased thirst, increased urination, increased hunger, and blurred vison. Some of these symptoms are very similar to each other. [Diabetes Causes and Types: Pre-Diabetes, Types 1

4). There are two major types of diabetes mellitus, type 1 and type 2, and gestational diabetes is a third type that could occur during pregnancy. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the more common of the three types, attributing tor around 95 percent of new cases of diabetes (Prezbindowski & Porth, 2005 pg. 1309 para. 1). Diabetes mellitus is caused by one’s body having trouble breaking down foods they eat to convert to energy due to an inefficient supply of insulin or an inability to use insulin effectively. The source of the problem derives from beta cells located in the pancreas. These cells are special for their production of insulin and response to it. If there is a problem with the beta cells in the pancreas, then their inefficient supply and absorption of insulin results to an increased amount of glucose in the blood stream that cannot be absorbed sufficiently which leads to a diabetic condition. If one may suspect diabetes mellitus as a health condition they are experiencing, there are common signs and symptoms that are associated with the disease.

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar properly, or becomes resistant to the effects of insulin, also causing blood sugar to rise. High blood sugar is characteristic of diabetes. People who have diabetes have to take insulin shots or supplements in order to give their body enough insulin to regulate blood sugar. There are three main types of diabetes: Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. In Type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugar. In Type 2 diabetes, the body is resistant to insulin, and so it allows blood sugar to rise to high levels (Winter 2002). Gestational diabetes is a temporary diabetes that develops in previously non-diabetic pregnant women and causes their blood sugar to rise during their pregnancy.

,pediabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes. Gestational diabetes occurs when pregnant, if you give

Type 2 diabetes later in life. If the mothers who have diabetes while in gestational :

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.

It is defined as an increase in blood glucose levels diagnosed during the pregnancy and induced by the pregnancy. The hormones secreted by the placenta lead to the development of an insulin resistant state which is more pronounced during the last three months of the pregnancy. If uncontrolled, it can lead to abnormalities and complications in both the mother and the baby. It can lead to malformation of the heart/kidneys of the baby, low birth weight or even a large baby

Diabetes has been established to be more precarious for women, as it can augment pregnancy complications such as macrosomia, miscarriage, and birth defects. Women with diabetes also have a higher prevalence of secondary cardiovascular disease. Among those women who continue in the spiral of diabetes complications, ischemic heart disease is an even greater complication which will reduce survival and quality of life (Beckles and Thompson-Reid, 2011). Pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in their lifetime. It has been proven that an average of 25 percent of pregnant women with GDM will be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within an average of seven years (Sokup, Ruszkowska-Ciatec, Walentowicz, Grabiec & Rose, 2014). In such women, blood glucose and triglyceride levels must be monitored closely, and appropriate action and referrals are given if needed for proper disease management.

Gestational Diabetes is a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy due to elevated glucose levels. Complications of gestational diabetes include macrosomia, preterm labor, and respiratory distress. It can also lead to diabetes later in life for the mother. Normalizing blood sugars is an important way to prevent these complications and maintain a healthy pregnancy (Lowdermilk 2014). In a research study of pregnant women, it examined the outcomes of pregnancies if glucose testing was done continuously vs self-monitoring.

Between 5.5 and 8.8% of pregnant women develop GDM in Australia. Risk factors for GDM include a family history of diabetes, increasing maternal age, obesity and being a member of a community or ethnic group with a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. While the carbohydrate intolerance usually returns to normal after the birth, the mother has a significant risk of developing permanent diabetes while the baby is more likely to develop obesity and impaired glucose tolerance and/or diabetes later in life. Self-care and dietary changes are essential in treatment.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an intolerance of glucose documented for the first time during pregnancy. It is usually a short-term type of diabetes and the most common health problem with pregnant women. GBM is caused by the way the hormones in pregnancy affect the mother. GDM accounts for 5-7% of all pregnancies (American Diabetes Association, 2010). During pregnancy the placenta develops and becomes the main bond between the mother and the baby. It is used to make sure the baby has and gets enough nutrients. The placenta makes several hormones which make it hard for insulin to control blood glucose and block the action of the mother’s insulin in her body (American Diabetes Association, 2010). Hormonal changes during the