Gestational Diabetes - A New Mom's Ordeals
She walked slowly through the hallway. Her face did not show the radiance a new mother should have. Somehow it seemed dull and lifeless. She looked like someone had snatched her joy of becoming a mother right from underneath her. I could understand her pain since I was in the same situation twenty years ago. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during my third pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes(G.D.), by definition, is a condition in which non-diabetic women show high levels of glucose in their blood during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes could also affect women who were pre-diabetic or had diabetes mellitus before but were unaware of it. Most of the time the only way this condition is recognized is through screening for diabetes during pregnancy. Hormones produced during the pregnancy increase resistance in the pregnant woman's body to insulin causing impairment in 'glucose tolerance' thus increasing blood sugar levels.
Women with G.D. have a high risk of developing type 2 or type 1 diabetes at a later time in their lives. Risk factors include:
a. previous diagnosis of diabetes mellitus with impaired glucose tolerance/fasting blood sugar levels. b. family history of type 2 diabetes c. age-chances increase with increase in age when a woman becomes pregnant. d. ethnicity - women who are african - american, native americans, hispanics, pacific islanders, south asians are at increased risk of developing G.D. e. overweight or obesity f. diabetes during previous pregnancy with overweight child g. smoking h. polycystic ovarian syndrome.
Even though women with G.D. are asymptomatic, some show increased urination, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, bladder infection, yeast infection, blurred vision among others. Most of the time G.D. is diagnosed in the second trimester. Risk factors for the babies include increased size that could contribute complication at delivery time, low blood glucose levels, jaundice, obesity, type 2 diabetes in later years.
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
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