Gestational Diabetes is a condition in which a woman without diabetes develops high blood sugar levels during her pregnancy and it usually disappears after childbirth. Gestational diabetes causes high blood sugar that can affect your pregnancy and your baby’s health.

Any complication during pregnancy is likely to increase the risk of further pregnancy complications and eventually affect delivery. But there’s good news; expectant women can control gestational diabetes by making healthy lifestyle changes, such as eating healthy foods, doing moderate exercise regularly and, if necessary, taking medication. Controlling blood sugar can prevent a difficult birth and keep you and your baby healthy.

In gestational diabetes, blood sugar level usually returns to normal soon after delivery. However, if you’ve had gestational diabetes, you’re at risk to develop type 2 diabetes later in life.

What are the Symptoms?

For most women, gestational diabetes doesn’t cause noticeable signs or symptoms. Most of them learn they have it during routine pregnancy test or screening tests.

Rarely, especially if the gestational diabetes is out of control, you may notice unusual thirst and hunger with a frequent urge for urination.

What are the Causes?

During pregnancy, the placenta makes pregnancy hormones that can lead to a buildup of glucose in your blood. Usually, your pancreas can make enough insulin to handle that. If not, your blood sugar levels will rise and can cause gestational diabetes.

Who are at Risk?

Gestational diabetes affects around 18 percent of pregnancies each year. You are more likely to get gestational diabetes if you:

• Are overweight or obese
• Are over the age of 25
• Have high blood sugar levels, but not high enough to be diabetes
• Have a family history of diabetes
• Have had gestational diabetes before
• Have high blood pressure or other medical complications
• Have previously given birth to large baby (over 4.5 kg)
• Have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)

How to Diagnosis Gestational Diabetes?

Your Gynecologist will evaluate your risk factors for gestational diabetes early in your pregnancy. If you’re at high risk of gestational diabetes, such as you have a family history of diabetes or your body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy was 30 or higher, your gynecologist may test for diabetes at your first prenatal visit.

If you’re at average risk of gestational diabetes, your doctor may recommend for a screening test during your second trimester (between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy).

How to Treat Gestational Diabetes?

To treat the condition, your gynecologist may ask you to:

• Check your blood sugar levels four or more times a day
• Do urine tests that check for ketones, which means your diabetes is not under control
• Eat a healthy diet that’s in line with your doctor’s recommendations
• Do moderate exercise regularly

Your gynecologist will track how much weight you gain and let you know if you need to take insulin or other medicine to treat gestational diabetes. Another important part of your treatment plan is close observation of your baby. Your gynecologist may monitor your baby’s growth and development with repeated ultrasounds or other tests.

Even though having gestational diabetes increases your risk of needing a c-section, most women with this condition can have an uncomplicated vaginal birth. Gestational diabetes may make your baby grow larger than normal (over 4.5 kg) and the size of your baby is the key factor used by your healthcare provider to determine whether you can have a normal vaginal delivery.

Since there’s a risk of low blood sugar from gestational diabetes when a baby is born, breastfeeding your baby as soon as possible after birth is the best way to prevent or correct hypoglycemia – a condition caused by a very low level of blood sugar.

Special care may be required, if your baby:

• is born early (premature)
• needs help breathing
• has another medical condition, such as jaundice
• has hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)

Later in life, your baby might have a greater chance of developing obesity and diabetes. So, help your baby live a healthy lifestyle to lower their odds for these health problems.