Contents:
- Medical Video: Gestational Diabetes: Managing Risk During and After Pregnancy Video - Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Check blood sugar levels
- Diet
- Eat as usual
- Food glycemic index
- Eat lots of vegetables and fruit
- Limit consumption of sugar and sweet foods
- Unsaturated fats
- Calories
- Sports
- Treatment
- Insulin
- Hypoglycemic medication
- Monitor a baby in the womb
Medical Video: Gestational Diabetes: Managing Risk During and After Pregnancy Video - Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Some women with gestational diabetes can control their blood sugar levels by changing their diet and exercising regularly. In addition, you can do several treatment therapies.
Check blood sugar levels
The most important part of treating gestational diabetes is checking blood sugar levels regularly. Pregnant women with gestational diabetes must also check their blood sugar levels regularly.
Glucose levels in the blood are usually measured by the amount of milimol of glucose in one liter of blood. Milimol is a measurement that determines the amount of glucose in your blood. Measurements are expressed as millimoles per liter, or mmol / l.
Your individual target mmol / l will be set for you by a doctor. The following might include the mmol target for you:
- Fasting blood glucose (after you don't eat for about 8 hours - Usually the first thing in the morning)
- Postprandial blood glucose (1 or 2 hours after you eat)
The doctor will explain when and how often you need to measure glucose levels in your blood. You may need to test your fasting blood glucose levels and normal blood sugar after eating during your pregnancy. If your diabetes is being treated with insulin, you may have to test glucose frequently in your blood before going to bed at night.
Diet
Once you know that you have gestational diabetes, you must limit the amount of carbohydrates you eat as a way to control blood sugar. Especially for those of you who are too fat or obese, the reduction must be done significantly.
Eat as usual
Don't skip meals, and always balance your diet that includes low glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates so you can absorb carbohydrates more slowly, which helps keep your blood sugar levels stable between meals.
You can choose between pasta, oatmeal or plain rice; bread with coarse wheat, and rye; or tubers such as potatoes, cassava and sweet potatoes. High-fiber starchy foods will also help your digestive system and prevent constipation.
Food glycemic index
The glycemic index is a measure of how much effect a food has on increasing blood sugar levels. Foods with a high glycemic index are foods that are quickly digested and absorbed so that blood sugar levels will increase significantly significantly. Foods with a low glycemic index experience slower digestion and absorption so that an increase in glucose and insulin levels in the blood will occur slowly. Don't be too stiff and obsessed with the Glycemic Index standard. Keep on a balanced diet that you like.
Eat lots of vegetables and fruit
You are also advised to eat high-fiber foods. Fresh fruits and vegetables are very important in this context. You should consume at least 5 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. However, you only need to eat 1 portion of fruit each meal and no more than 3 servings a day. Better to avoid consumption of fruit juice. Try to combine beans such as kidney beans, peanuts, beans, kidney beans, and green beans.
Limit consumption of sugar and sweet foods
You don't need to avoid sugar. You can mix sugar in various types of food and cakes, but you must be careful in mixing sugar into your menu. Drink sugar-free drinks, or fruit juices, replacing sweet drinks that can reduce the amount of sugar consumed in your menu.
You might also be advised to choose proteins that are not fatty like fish. Eat 2 servings of fish a week, one of which must be oily fish, such as sardines or mackerel. There are some fish that should not be eaten too much, like tuna.
Unsaturated fats
It's better to eat balanced with polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. Some types of unsaturated fats can keep your immune system healthy and can also reduce cholesterol levels.
Foods that contain unsaturated fats are:
- Nuts and seeds
- Avocado
- Jam made from sunflowers, olives and vegetable oil
Calories
If your body mass index is more than 27 before you become pregnant, you might be advised to reduce the number of calories in your diet. You can use a healthy weight calculator to calculate your body mass index - but remember to measure your weight before becoming pregnant.
Your doctor, midwife, or diabetes doctor will suggest how many calories you should eat in a day, and the safest way to reduce calories from your diet.
Sports
Physical activity or exercise can reduce glucose levels in your blood, so regular exercise can be an effective way to treat gestational diabetes. Your doctor, midwife or diabetes doctor can advise on the safest way to exercise during pregnancy.
If your body mass index is more than 27 before you become pregnant, you may be advised to take moderate exercise for at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) in a week.
This can be an activity that makes you a little out of breath and increases your heart rate, such as cycling or walking fast.
Treatment
If diet and exercise do not effectively control your gestational diabetes after 1-2 weeks, you may be given prescription drugs. Time can vary depending on your glucose level.
There are several types of drugs available, and the choice will depend on:
- What will most effectively control your blood glucose
- What is most possible for you
Possible drugs include:
- Insulin
- Metformin in tablet form
These drugs will be stopped immediately after the birth of your baby.
Insulin
If your body does not respond to insulin, you may need an injection of insulin to make sure your body has enough insulin to reduce glucose levels in your blood.
Insulin must be given by injection, so you will be told how:
- How and when to inject yourself
- How to store insulin and remove your needles properly
- Signs and symptoms of low blood sugar
- Driving and regulating with insulin
Insulin is in several different forms. This is a recipe that your doctor may give you:
- Fast-acting insulin analogues - usually injected before or after meals; can work quickly, but does not last long
- Basal insulin - usually injected at bedtime or waking up
Here's how to safely use insulin during pregnancy. However, you will need to monitor glucose in your blood carefully. If you are using insulin, you will need to check:
- Fasting blood glucose (after you have not eaten for about 8 hours - usually the first thing in the morning)
- Blood glucose at 1 or 2 hours after each meal
- Blood glucose at other times (for example, if you feel unwell or have had a period of hypoglycemia - low blood glucose)
If your blood glucose drops too low, you might get hypoglycemia.
Hypoglycemic medication
In some cases, you may be prescribed a hypoglycemic medication called metformin instead of insulin. This is a medication taken to reduce blood sugar levels in your blood.
Metformin can cause side effects, including:
- Nausea (stomach ache)
- Gag
- Abdominal cramps and diarrhea (runny bowel movements)
For a complete list of side effects, see the patient leaflet information in your package / medicine box.
Monitor a baby in the womb
If you have gestational diabetes, the unborn baby may have a risk of complications, such as larger size. Therefore, you may be offered additional antenatal appointments so the baby can be monitored during pregnancy. Meetings with your doctor may be offered including:
- Ultrasound is around the week of your 18-20 pregnancy, to check your baby's heart and see signs of abnormalities (if your gestational diabetes is diagnosed when your pregnancy is advanced, you may not be asked to do an ultrasound)
- Ultrasound at weeks 28, 32, 36 and a routine examination from week 38 of pregnancy to monitor the growth of your baby and see the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding your baby in the womb.
