Pregnancy Diabetes

Pregnancy diabetes is a common condition worldwide, and it resolves on its own in most of the cases, but it can lead to serious complications sometimes.

Pregnancy diabetes

Pregnancy diabetes is the type of diabetes that’s firstly diagnosed during pregnancy, which means that the pregnant woman didn’t have diabetes before pregnancy.

Causes and risk factors of pregnancy diabetes

The exact reason for pregnancy diabetes isn’t clear. But it’s thought that it’s related to the hormonal changes during pregnancy.

The risk of gestational diabetes increases due to the following factors:

• Being overweight or obese before pregnancy.
• A family history.
• Having GD in previous pregnancies.
• Not being physically active.
• Having prediabetes.
• Having polycystic ovarian syndrome.
• Advanced maternal age.
• Having hypertension or a heart disease.
• Having a baby that weighed more than 4.1 kg (9 pounds) after delivery.

Symptoms of pregnancy diabetes

• Pregnancy diabetes often doesn’t cause any symptoms.
• Some women may have frequent urination, excessive thirst, nausea, and tiredness.

Complications of pregnancy diabetes

Complications of pregnancy diabetes on the baby:

• Preterm birth.
• Elevated birth weight.
• Low blood sugar.
• Difficulty breathing.
• Obesity and type 2 diabetes may occur later in life.
• Baby’s death before or shortly after birth.

Complications of gestational diabetes on the mother:

• Preeclampsia.
• High blood pressure.
• Increased risk of developing diabetes later in life.
• The need for a C-section.

Diagnosis of pregnancy diabetes

• Blood tests.

Treatment of pregnancy diabetes

• Lifestyle modifications, including following a healthy diet and increasing physical activity.
• Monitoring the blood sugar levels.
• Some cases may require medications.
• The risk of pregnancy diabetes can be reduced by following a healthy lifestyle, starting the pregnancy at a healthy weight, and not gaining more weight during pregnancy than recommended.