I am on a fact-finding mission, and need your help!
It seems as though there is not much information about preventing gestational diabetes (in comparison to the vast amount of information for preventing adult-onset diabetes). I would assume that preventing one type of diabetes would be similar to preventing another type (through diet, exercise and maintaining healthy weight), but from my understanding, that is only part of the equation. The other part is just how your body responds to the pregnancy, which is uncontrollable...right?! Is that true, or not?
According to the American Diabetes Association, "We don't know what causes gestational diabetes, but we have some clues. The placenta supports the baby as it grows. Hormones from the placenta help the baby develop. But these hormones also block the action of the mother's insulin in her body. This problem is called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance makes it hard for the mother's body to use insulin. She may need up to three times as much 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 cannot leave the blood and be changed to energy. Glucose builds up in the blood to high levels. This is called hyperglycemia."
After reading this, it sounds as though diet and exercise alone can not prevent gestational diabetes, and it is truly the woman's reaction to the pregnancy.
Can you provide me with more information about how gestational diabetes actually occurs, specifically for someone who does not have the risk factors (is not overweight, exercises and eats healthfully), beyond the risk factor of a previous pregnancy with gestational diabetes?
Thanks in advance!