What is gestational diabetes?
Gestational diabetes is diabetes that is found for the first time when a woman is pregnant. Gestational (jes-TAY-shun-ul) diabetes is diabetes that is found for the first time when a woman is pregnant. Out of every 100 pregnant women in the United States, three to eight get gestational diabetes. Diabetes means that your blood glucose (also called blood sugar) is too high. Your body uses glucose for energy. But too much glucose in your blood can be harmful. When you are pregnant, too much glucose is not good for your baby. This booklet is for women with gestational diabetes. If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and are considering pregnancy, call the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse at 18008608747 for more information and consult your health care team before you get pregnant.
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes, or high blood sugar, that only pregnant women get. If a woman gets high blood sugar when she’s pregnant, but she never had high blood sugar before, she has gestational diabetes. Nearly 135,000 pregnant women get the condition every year, making it one of the top health concerns related to pregnancy. Managing gestational diabetes is very important in order to protect the baby. Babies born to mothers with uncontrolled gestational diabetes can be overly large at birth, making delivery more dangerous. These babies can also have breathing problems. Moreover, children exposed to diabetes in the womb are more likely to become obese during childhood and adolescence, and develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Usually, gestational diabetes goes away after the baby is born. However, women who have had gestational diabetes are at higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life, so healthy eating, physical activity, and weight maintenance are imp
Diabetes is a medical condition in which the body’s blood sugar is too high. Gestational diabetes is diabetes that is diagnosed during pregnancy. With gestational diabetes, the hormones of pregnancy interfere with the action of the mother’s insulin causing higher sugar in the blood than is normal. High blood sugar can cause many problems if it goes untreated. For this reason, all pregnant women need to be screened for diabetes between 24 and 28 weeks. Additionally, women who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes are at an increased risk for developing Type 2 diabetes in their lifetime.
