Complications

Gestational Diabetes in Pregnancy

During the 28th week of pregnancy, you may develop an occurrence of diabetes because of improper regulation of blood sugar. This is a normal condition in women who do not otherwise have diabetes, and usually goes away after delivery. Diabetes is the result of glucose in the blood at a higher than normal level.

In about 95% of all pregnant women diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes, the blood sugar returns to normal as soon as pregnancy is over, however they are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life, if they are not already diagnosed before conceiving, in which case diabetes may worsening if they do not take the precautions they need to control their condition.

In both cases, a healthy pregnancy depends on keeping blood sugar in the target range, following a diabetes treatment plan after diagnosis, including exercise, balanced insulin and meals. Research has estimated that Gestational Diabetes affects about 4% of all pregnant women in the United States each year, and causes of developing this condition are unknown.

Gestational Diabetes occurs when hormones from the placenta that support the baby as it grows, block the action of the woman's insulin in her body. Hormones keep helping the baby to develop but in the mother, insulin resistance is the result, making it hard for her body to use its own insulin.

Pregnant women who have developed insulin resistance may need up to 3 times as much insulin as women who are not pregnant, however the body does not have any problems making and using all the insulin it needs for pregnancy. Insulin is needed to make glucose leave the blood and be changed to energy that, otherwise builds up in the blood to high levels leading to hyperglycemia.

Because the baby keeps developing and getting from the placenta the hormones needed, there is no risk of birth defects if you are suffering from Gestational Diabetes, however you need to undergo treatment to control it, because if let untreated or poorly controlled can harm your baby, such as macrosomia. A baby with macrosomia is a fat baby getting extra insulin made by the baby's pancreas.

This condition results from your own pancreas working to produce insulin, which does not lower your blood glucose levels. Insulin does not cross the placenta, but glucose and other nutrients do, giving the baby high blood glucose levels and extra energy, stored as fat that may cause damage to the baby's shoulders during birth.

Babies who are born with such an excess of insulin become children with health problems over time, including the risk of obesity in childhood, and type 2 diabetes in adulthood.