Pregnancy with Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a disorder characterized by impaired ability to metabolize carbohydrates, usually caused by a deficiency of insulin resistance, occurring in

Blood glucose needs to be tested to ensure the blood glucose is not too high or too low to determine how much insulin is needed.

Patients are usually given a blood test to show if diabetes is present, the test may be given because of questionable symptoms one has had or from genetic history. If after testing hemoglobin levels in your blood, and diagnosed with diabetes, insulin will then be a part of a patients’ daily routine (Insel, Deecher, & Brewer, 2012).Tests are taken to determine whether or not hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia is present. When this is discovered, the tests become more frequent. A variety of tests are done in order to keep one in good health. If diagnosed in time, and with proper care, many complications can be prevented. JDRF will be supporting

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

This test indicates to the doctor whether or not the body is processing glucose correctly. Diabetes is diagnosed with this test if after two hours the blood glucose level is greater than or equal to 200 mg. There is also a Random Plasma Glucose Test, which is a blood test that can be done at any point in the day when experiencing diabetic symptoms (American Diabetes Association, 2013).

There are four ways to get tested for the disease. The first test someone can do is called the fasting blood glucose level. This is fasting for twelve hours before getting glucose levels tested. The second test is the A1C test. This test is used for diagnosing pre-diabetes. In this test, levels are diagnosed by percentages as normal, pre-diabetes, and diabetes. The next test is the oral glucose tolerance test. Lastly, the random non-fasting glucose test is a less trusted test. This test takes symptoms into consideration along with needing to be proved with a fasting test. (Type)

The patients’ blood is drawn on two separate occasions.” Blood fasting glucose is the best indicator of blood homeostasis and is the preferred method of diagnosing diabetes.” Postprandial blood glucose sampling is also another test done to determine blood glucose level.” Postprandial testing samples are drawn every two hours after a meal to detect the efficiency of the insulin. “Oral glucose test that is done by drinking 8 ounces of a sweet liquid that will also measure the blood glucose levels checking after one hour and then again after two hours.” Normal blood glucose levels should be 70-125

To get even more specific, a study was done about the sole issue of the number of stillbirths that result in diabetic pregnancies. Using pregnancies from 1990-2000, researchers analyzed characteristics of the pregnancy: the mother, her control over her diabetes, the pregnancy itself, and the still born. Looking through 1300 women, 25 stillbirths were found among 22 women. Within those stillbirths, 9 were caused by poor glycemic control, with the rest due to explainable (smoking, poor environment, diabetic nephropathy etc) or unexplainable causes.

Gestational Diabetes: This is often found in pregnant women who have never had an incidence of high blood sugar or a history of diabetes. It is characterized by high levels of blood glucose during pregnancy but normal blood glucose levels after pregnancy if controlled right (WHO,

This exposure to high levels of glucose can lead to high levels of fetal insulin production, both of which are a danger to the baby brain (Davis Health 2012). Additionally, these levels may lead to a lack of oxygen to the fetus, known as fetal hypoxia (Krakowiak et al 2012). This is known to affect brain structure, particularly the hippocampus and neural myelination (Krakowiak et al 2012). Women who have difficulties regulating their glucose levels prior to becoming pregnant often develop gestational diabetes mellitus, which only appears during pregnancy (Krakowiak et al 2012). More than 85 percent of maternal diabetes cases pertain to gestational diabetes mellitus, or GDM (Xu et al 2014). Though gestational diabetes is the most common form of diabetes during/ pregnancy, preexisting type 1 and type 2 diabetes still appear, together only accounting for 12.5 percent of maternal diabetes cases, and can also affect the growing fetus (Xu et al 2014).

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that develops only during pregnancy. Diabetes means your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Your body uses glucose for energy. Too much glucose in your blood is not good for a mother or her baby.

Maternal diabetes develops in between 2% to 6% of total pregnancies. (PubMed.gov, 2015). If the mother has type 1 or 2 diabetes it must exist during the early stages of pregnancies. “Abnormally high glucose levels in maternal blood, which leads to increased glucose transport to the embryo, is responsible for the teratogenic effects of maternal diabetes.” (PubMed.gov, 2015). Also, if the mother has

Diabetes mellitus diagnosis is performed by a blood test. The test usually reveals high blood glucose. Steps in diagnosis include, if patient presents with symptoms of diabetes of a blood test for blood glucose is ordered. In most cases of type 2 diabetes mellitus there may be little or no symptoms. This means high blood sugar may be detected on a routine blood tests for example one taken before a surgery. It may be important to make the diagnosis early since uncontrolled high blood glucose for a long duration leads to long term damage to blood vessels and other complications. Diabetes is diagnosed on the basis of a single abnormal plasma glucose reading. When taken randomly at any time of the day the levels are significant if they are above 111 moll/L and when taken after an overnight fast, the numbers of significant if above 7 mmol/L (126 mg/dL). (news medical.net 2014.)

Gestational diabetes is usually diagnosed during the pregnancy of a woman. The affected women have high levels of blood glucose which cannot be compensated by insulin from the body resulting in increased levels of glucose. Reworded from the MediLexicon source, around ten to twenty percent of affected women need to take regulating medication in order to prevent complications at their child’s birth. Complications can happen if the diabetes is not properly treated in time. Pregnant women are at most risk of Gestational diabetes if they were on a high animal fat or cholesterol diet. Although it may not get as much attention as the other two types of diabetes, Gestational diabetes is caused by similar circumstances to those that cause type 1 and type 2 (MediLexicon International).

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