The Cause Of Gestational 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.

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.

,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 :

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.

“Diabetes Mellitus is a disease that is characterized by chronic hypoglycemia” (ATI 2011). There are three classifications of Diabetes; Type One is classified as "juvenile-onset" or "insulin-dependent" diabetes. This type of diabetes does is where the immune system destroys cells that release insulin, eliminating the production of insulin in the body. Without insulin, cells can 't absorb the sugar in the body; sugars are used to make energy by the body. Secondly, Type Two diabetes is classified as "adult-onset" or "non-insulin dependent diabetes. This type of diabetes can develop at any age, and is usually based on lifestyle choices. In Type Two, the body isn’t able to make use of the insulin that is currently being produced, which is classified as resistance of insulin. As this disease progresses, the pancreas will produce less insulin, causing a deficiency. Thirdly, Gestational diabetes occurs in pregnancy. It is situational diabetes when the development of the fetus blocks the production of insulin by the pancreas.

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.

Gestational diabetes, affecting approximately 3-10% of pregnancies, is diagnosed by hyperglycemia during pregnancy in women without a history of diabetes. The underlying cause of gestational diabetes remains unknown, although the interference of pregnancy hormones, such as human placental lactogen, with susceptible insulin receptors, has been considered. The patients usually have few symptoms, and they are often diagnosed by screening during routine pregnancy check-up. For the mother, glucose intolerance typically disappears after the baby is born. However, gestational diabetes often places the body at risk. Babies born to mothers with poor hyperglycemia control are often at increased risk of series problems including macrosomia, which associates with a high chance of C-section, shoulder dystocia, hypoglycemia after birth, polycythemia as well as multiple chemical disorders.

The following information explains what you need to know when managing your diabetes at home during your pregnancy.

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 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).