Pregnancy Tips and Maternal Health Care

You have 28 weeks of pregnancy. Your health care provider (doctor / midwife) had been informed that you have gestational diabetes. Should you be concerned about gestational diabetes? The short answer: Yes Good control means a lot for your health and the health of your baby.

What is gestational diabetes?
Pregnant women who have never had diabetes but who have high levels of blood sugar (glucose) during pregnancy, they were classified as having gestational diabetes.

Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of all pregnant women. This corresponds to 135,000 cases of gestational diabetes annually in the United States.

We do not know what causes gestational diabetes, but we have some clues. The placenta supports the baby as it grows. The hormones from the placenta help the baby’s development, but these hormones also block the action of insulin in the body of the mother. This problem is called insulin resistance. The insulin resistance prevents the mother’s body to use insulin. You may need up to three times more insulin.

Gestational diabetes starts when your body is not able to make and use all the insulin it needs for pregnancy. Without enough insulin, glucose can not leave the blood and converted into energy. Glucose builds up in the blood to reach very high levels. This is known as hyperglycemia.