Common Pregnancy Complications: Gestational Diabetes

• Each female that becomes pregnant will be tested for this issue. Those that are not considered to be “High Risk” are usually only tested one time. However, those that are in pregnancies that are considered to be high risk may be tested many times during a pregnancy. Women who are considered to be high risk are those that are over the age of thirty five, those that have had the common condition and illness of gestational diabetes in pregnancy, and those that are overweight.

Gestational diabetes is a situation in which the body of the pregnant sufferer is not submitting an adequate level of insulin. This condition is often accompanied with many different symptoms such as one or more of the following:

* Feeling thirsty on a consistent basis
* Experiencing nausea
* Vision complications such as blurred vision
* Experiencing mild to severe fatigue
* Urinating frequently

If you are found to test positive for this common pregnancy complication, the doctor that did the first blood test will likely schedule you to come in for a longer and more extensive blood screening. If the results come out the same, your doctor will explain that the most important part of the treatment process is to control the amount of sugar that is contained in your blood. The medical professional will likely want to keep a close eye on you and monitor the baby growing inside of you on a regular basis. This is more of a preventive measure, but it is an important one.

What Happens if You Test Positive for Gestational Diabetes

Your doctor may prescribe you a glucose monitoring device as well as a well-stocked supply of lancets and strips for the testing. You may be asked to check your blood one to three times daily and record the results in a special log book.

• You may also be asked to document the healthy foods and beverages that you consume. This is another area that your doctor will want to monitor – and that is your diet. Nine times out of ten, you will be issued a special diet that will assist you in obtaining the nutrients that you require and that your unborn child requires without raising your glucose levels.

In addition to the diet and careful monitoring of the blood for glucose levels, a doctor will likely provide you with an exercise regime. The exercises will be completely safe to engage in during pregnancy as long as you follow your doctor’s instructions specifically.

• If the gestational diabetes fails to show an improvement, your doctor may be inclined to prescribe insulin therapy. It is always important to ensure that you follow the directions issued by your medical provider. If you fail to do so, it could result in many severe complications.

Complications often associated with gestational diabetes include the possibility that your child will need to be delivered by a cesarean section.

The child’s initial birth rate may be exceptionally large which put their health at risk. The delivery of the child may actually be premature. This, too, could result in health complications on both your end and your child’s.

While gestational diabetes is one of the most common of all pregnancy complications, it is essential to ensure that you follow the treatment plan issued by your doctor.