Hemoglobin A1c Test Essay

Risk Factors- The risk for an infant being born to a diabetic mother is maternal diabetes.

Many women may be having the signs and symptoms of gestational diabetes and not know it nor know how harmful it can be to themselves or the unborn child. Some symptoms may include; blurred vision, fatigue, frequent infections, increased thirst, increased urination, nausea and vomiting, and weight loss in spite of increase appetite (Gutierrez, 2007). Having gestational diabetes can also cause harm to the unborn baby, the most common result is an increased birth weight that exceeds nine pounds (Gutierrez, 2009). In most cases not every woman that has gestational diabetes will have any of these symptoms but should be given an oral glucose tolerance test between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy (Seibel, 2009). Almost every doctor in this day in age will have pregnant patients take this test regardless if the patient is having symptoms or not.

An A1C test will provide the average blood glucose levels for the past three months, this test will measure the amount of glucose attached to hemoglobin (NIH, 2016). What you are looking for in an A1C test is for the percentage to be below 5.7, if the level is 6.5 percent or higher then it means you have diabetes (Mayo Clinic, n.d). A random blood sugar test is when it can be taken anytime. If the results show a level of 200 mg/dl or higher it indicates you have diabetes if you are below 200 mg/dl, you do not have diabetes (Diabetes co UK, n.d). A fasting blood sugar test needs to be taken after eight hours of no food; these are preferably done in the morning. Someone with a result of 99 or below is at no risk, 100 to 125 is pre-diabetes and 126 or above means you have diabetes (NIH,n.d).In order to take an oral glucose tolerance test you must eat for at least 8 hours prior taking the test. The normal level is between 139 or below, 140 to 199 is pre-diabetes, 200 and above means, you have diabetes (NIH,

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).

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.

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

There are several different types of diabetes. Type one diabetes is when the body produces little or no insulin and can be known as a chronic disease. This type can be considered the most severe, because people who have type one are born with it and there is no cure. The only way to control type one is to manually pump insulin into the body whenever sugar is consumed. Gestational diabetes occurs only in pregnant women and is caused when the body changes and cannot respond to insulin (National Institutes of Health). In many cases this type of diabetes can be set in remission with the correct diet and exercise during a pregnancy. This type also has the chance to give the unborn child diabetes as well, and the mother may have to live

When you look into the possible pathophysiological mechanisms that might have caused this histological changes, the insulin/IGF[ ] system has been implicated in several of the alterations noted placentae of patients with maternal diabetes. The placenta is richly endowed with IR and IGF1R, and serves as the tissue of origin for isolation of the receptor proteins. Both receptors are located on distinct placental surfaces, thus enabling maternal and/or fetal insulin, IGF1 and IGF2 to affect placental function and development. Therefore, in a pregnancy complicated by diabetes, altered insulin, IGF and IGFBP levels are most likely to influence

Gestational diabetes, which is much less common, only occurs during pregnancy and is caused by a resistance to the actions of insulin brought on by the hormones a woman’s body releases during pregnancy (WHO 2011, p. 2). Once diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus you are at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life (Zimmet & Magliano 2011). For this reason it is particularly important to use preventative measures and consistent health checks.

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.

There is an unresolved debate on whether routine HbA1c’s are not cost effective and the model should remain as women receiving a polycose test at 24-28 weeks. An HbA1c is a blood test that requires no consumption of concentrated glucose drinks or fasting. It measures the amount of blood glucose over the prior 120 days (Sevket, Sevket, Ozel, Dansuk & Kelekci, 2014). It has however been concluded that HbA1c’s are not an alternative for diagnosis of GDM and are not useful in reduces the need for further diagnostic testing (Sevket, Sevket, Ozel, Dansuk & Kelekci, 2014). Therefore not all guidelines are updated to follow these recommendations supported by the MOH (2014) REFERENCE and REFERENCE. The algothrithm for ADHB (2013) and WDHB (2012) follow the ‘risk screening’ approach where only women with risk factors are offered an HbA1c, all other women are offered the routine polycose at 24-28 weeks. Victorias midwife followed these guidelines. The screening and diagnosis of GDM also detects unrecognised type two diabetes and rarely type one (Pairman et al., 2015) because the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus includes insulin resistance, similar to GDM. Thus pregnancy provides a window of opportunity to identify women at risk of developing type 2 diabetes or who may be in the prediabetic state (Lacroix et al, 2013; Chasam-Taber, 2015). Prehaps if Victoria was offered an HbA1c at booking her GDM might have been recognised earlier.

Gestational diabetes is a disease that affects pregnant women it’s a glucose intolerance that is started or diagnosed during pregnancy. Based on recently announced diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association, it is estimated that gestational diabetes affects 18% of pregnancies. Pregnancy hormones can block insulin therefore causing the glucose levels to increase in a pregnant woman’s blood. Gestational diabetes starts when your body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy (American Diabetes Association). Without enough insulin, glucose cannot leave the blood and be changed to

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