I have been planning to do a series of pregnancy posts to share my experience during pregnancy and also to answer questions that any of my readers might have. I am starting with gestational diabetes as one of my readers, Anjali Sengar, particularly asked for this when I announced Varaa's arrival.
What is gestational diabetes and what you need to do?
Gestational diabetes means high sugar levels in a pregnant woman as the production of insulin is hampered by the hormones produced by the woman. A woman would be more at risk of gestational diabetes if
- she is above 30 years of age
- there is a family history of diabetes
- she has a sedentary lifestyle during pregnancy
- she smokes
These are the main reasons. Of course, a woman could get gestational diabetes even without any of the above reasons.
Given our hectic lifestyle, it is now compulsory for every pregnant woman to get a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) done in the sixth month of pregnancy to check whether she has diabetes. Please keep this in mind and insist that this test is done even if the gynecologist does not advise it. I am saying this cause my gynecologist told me not to get this test done despite the fact that my father has diabetes. This is one of the reasons that I changed doctors in the seventh month of my pregnancy (but that is a topic of a separate post - how useless my first gynecologist was).
If the GTT suggests that you have diabetes, then your gynecologist will call you immediately and will tell you what needs to be done which would include quite some changes to lifestyle and diet.
Source: Google
What is gestational diabetes and what you need to do?
Gestational diabetes means high sugar levels in a pregnant woman as the production of insulin is hampered by the hormones produced by the woman. A woman would be more at risk of gestational diabetes if
- she is above 30 years of age
- there is a family history of diabetes
- she has a sedentary lifestyle during pregnancy
- she smokes
These are the main reasons. Of course, a woman could get gestational diabetes even without any of the above reasons.
Given our hectic lifestyle, it is now compulsory for every pregnant woman to get a Glucose Tolerance Test (GTT) done in the sixth month of pregnancy to check whether she has diabetes. Please keep this in mind and insist that this test is done even if the gynecologist does not advise it. I am saying this cause my gynecologist told me not to get this test done despite the fact that my father has diabetes. This is one of the reasons that I changed doctors in the seventh month of my pregnancy (but that is a topic of a separate post - how useless my first gynecologist was).
If the GTT suggests that you have diabetes, then your gynecologist will call you immediately and will tell you what needs to be done which would include quite some changes to lifestyle and diet.
