Diabetes-Team

Gestational Diabetes

A good number of women suffer from gestational diabetes around the country. Age, family or personal health history before pregnancy, weight problems and race often increase the risk of certain groups of woman. According to experts, pregnant women who are older than 25 years are more likely to develop gestational diabetes than their younger counterparts. The risk of contracting this disease during pregnancy increases as women get older. Accordingly, women who are already about 35 years triple their chances of suffering from gestational diabetes. For this reason, a lot of healthcare providers advise that women who want to get pregnancy should have their babies before they turn 35 to avoid possible complications.

Aside from age, family or personal health history before pregnancy as well as obesity exposes women to higher risk of gestational diabetes. Studies show that women whose parents have history of type 1 or type II diabetes are at risk of suffering from this type of ailment. When it comes to weight, women who exceed their ideal weight by around 30% before the onset of pregnancy are said to be highly susceptible to gestational diabetes. Rapid weight gain during pregnancy can also trigger this type of ailment. Moreover, for some unknown reasons, Hispanic, Black and Asian women are more likely to contract this type of disease during pregnancy as compared to their counterparts.

Early Signs Of The Disease

In most cases, pregnant women who have gestational diabetes do not manifest symptoms of the disease. Studies show that this type of disease happens gradually and women who are normally healthy before pregnancy may contract this ailment without even knowing it. Early signs of the disease such as frequent urination, fatigue and thirsts are more or less the same as the symptoms of pregnancy that most women assume that they are just going through the normal pregnancy process.

Effect Of The Disease On The Unborn Child

Although untreated gestational diabetes rarely causes fetal death, it can cause a lot of complications during and after pregnancy. According to experts, gestational diabetes cause extra glucose to cross from the mother’s bloodstream into the placenta. Once the glucose reaches the placenta, it causes the pancreas of the fetus to produce extra amounts of insulin. The extra amount of insulin can trigger excessive growth on the part of the baby. As the baby gets too large inside the womb, it may be impossible for the mother to deliver the baby naturally. More often than not, too large babies are delivered through cesarean section.

Aside from growing too large while inside the womb, babies whose mothers are diabetic are at risk of being born too early. Babies who are delivered too early are more likely to suffer from respiratory distress syndrome. Babies severe respiratory problems will need help to breathe and some of them may have to be hooked to respirators after birth. Although most babies who have respiratory problems at birth do not suffer from other forms of lung problems, some babies do suffer from complications.

Aside from possible problems during birth, babies who are born to mothers with gestational diabetes are at risk of suffering from long term developmental problems. According to experts, babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes may suffer from attention deficiency problems and delayed motor skills development. Moreover, some babies may suffer from type 1 and type II diabetes later in life.

Effects Of The Disease On The Mother

Gestational diabetes does not only pose dangers to the fetus, it can also threaten the mother’s life. A lot of women who have diabetes suffer from preeclampsia, a medical condition that is characterized by excessive amounts of protein in the urine and high blood pressure. This condition usually happen around the 20th week of pregnancy and onward.

Always consult your doctor before using this information.

This Article is nutritional in nature and is not to be construed as medical advice.