Contents:
- Medical Video: GESTATIONAL DIABETES | What I Ate in a Day + Glucose Checks
- How likely is gestational diabetes to occur?
- What are the signs and symptoms of gestational diabetes?
- The danger of gestational diabetes in the mother and baby in the womb
- Is it possible for diabetes during pregnancy to heal after giving birth later?
- So, how to deal with diabetes while pregnant?
- 1. Diet
- 2. Physical activity
- 3. Control stress
Medical Video: GESTATIONAL DIABETES | What I Ate in a Day + Glucose Checks
Gestational diabetes is a condition of diabetes that occurs in a woman who is pregnant. This type of diabetes should not be underestimated by pregnant women. Not only has an impact on maternal health, gestational diabetes also harms the fetus in the womb. So, what are the triggers for diabetes during pregnancy and how to handle them? Relax, all the answers can be found in full in the following review.
How likely is gestational diabetes to occur?
The possibility of developing diabetes during pregnancy tends to vary depending on the risk factors.
Risk factors for gestational diabetes itself are divided into two, namely low and high risk factors. Some of the high risk factors that trigger diabetes during pregnancy are as follows:
- Women have diabetes before pregnancy
- There are family members who have diabetes
- History of previous pregnancies, such as giving birth to a large baby or the condition of the amniotic fluid is very large
- The health of pregnant women themselves, for example pregnant in conditions of obesity, have hypertension both before or during pregnancy, and so on
So, it is very possible if a woman can have diabetes while pregnant even though she did not experience it beforehand. This occurs in 2 to 10 percent of cases of total pregnancy.
What are the signs and symptoms of gestational diabetes?
In fact there are no specific signs and symptoms which leads to gestational diabetes. Because, this condition can only be known through routine examinations with laboratory tests.
So, once a woman enters pregnancy, a laboratory examination needs to be done immediately to see whether there is a possibility of developing diabetes or not.
When the mother is suspected of having this condition, not only her blood sugar levels will be monitored. But also seen how the mother's body tolerates the rise and fall of blood sugar levels in one day.
Take for example, pregnant women who have just finished eating will certainly experience increased blood sugar. Well, what you need to watch out for is when these blood sugar levels rise dramatically which leads to diabetes or also called prediabetes.
So, seeing the blood sugar levels of pregnant women is not enough to determine gestational diabetes because it can cause confusion.
For example, blood sugar levels when you can show normal numbers, but it turns out between blood sugar when there is an abnormal blood sugar surge. Well, this is what is called prediabetes.
The danger of gestational diabetes in the mother and baby in the womb
Not only in pregnant women, gestational diabetes can also have a certain impact on the health of the baby in the womb. Diabetic pregnant women will certainly experience some pregnancy problems, including:
- Risk of premature delivery
- Preeclampsia
- Caesarean delivery
- Risk of giving birth with aids, for example with the help of vacuum, forceps, and so on
- The risk of skin tear of the vaginal opening (perineum) is greater when giving birth normally
- Infection during pregnancy, for example vaginal discharge or post-pregnancy infection
Meanwhile, the condition of diabetes during pregnancy can also cause some risks to the fetus, namely babies with low birth weight (LBW), babies born with large size, premature birth, miscarriage, sudden death in the womb (stillbirth), and defects or imperfections in infants.
Is it possible for diabetes during pregnancy to heal after giving birth later?
The possibility of recovery from gestational diabetes after childbirth is seen from the risk factors. If a pregnant woman has a history of diabetes before, both from herself and from her family history, then it is likely that her diabetes will recur at any time even after giving birth.
In fact, 30 to 60 percent of cases of gestational diabetes can turn into permanent diabetes. That is, it is very possible that you who have diabetes while pregnant, still experience a surge in blood sugar levels despite giving birth.
This risk will increase if pregnant women have risk factors that trigger gestational diabetes.
For example, pregnant women are obese, have a history of diabetes, or weight does not return to normal postpartum. If you experience one of them, then chances are you will experience diabetes that stays in the future.
So, how to deal with diabetes while pregnant?
The main thing to prevent this condition from happening with pregnant women is by adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle since the beginning of pregnancy.
However, if pregnant women already have diabetes, it is clearly necessary to try to control their blood sugar as much as possible. The method can be by changing your diet, taking diabetes medications, or injecting insulin.
Efforts to treat gestational diabetes can also be done by applying a healthier lifestyle, including the following:
1. Diet
Judging from the diet, pregnant women are encouraged to avoid certain types of foods that can trigger a rise in blood sugar, namely foods with high glycemic indexes such as sweet foods, and high-salt foods. Because, both sugar and salt both play a role in increasing a person's blood sugar levels.
In addition, pregnant women who have diabetes are not recommended to drink pregnant milk. This is because pregnant milk contains additional calories which can reach 200 to 400 calories per glass. Of course this actually increases the risk of diabetes in pregnant women.
2. Physical activity
Physical activity or exercise can improve the body's response to insulin. This is why, pregnant women who have diabetes are encouraged to increase their physical activity.
Pregnant exercise is one of the mild exercises that can be done by pregnant women to increase metabolic activity.
Through pregnancy exercise, the mother's body can react better to the insulin produced by her own body. Thus, pregnant women who exercise regularly can control their blood sugar better than pregnant women who do not exercise.
3. Control stress
Maintaining the psychological condition of pregnant women is no less important than maintaining physical conditions, one of which is the stress level of pregnant women. Stress hormones or cortisol can affect the process of sugar metabolism and insulin resistance in the body thereby increasing the risk of diabetes in pregnant women.
Not only that, stress conditions in pregnant women can also endanger the health of the fetus. Because the hormone cortisol produced by stressed pregnant women can penetrate the placenta and affect the fetal brain. As a result, babies are at risk of experiencing psychological disorders and inhibiting cognitive abilities in infants.
