How To Control Diabetes During Pregnancy

This article will help answer questions you may have relating to diabetes and pregnancy.  Please note, it is extremely important to consult your Doctor if you are pregnant and suffer with diabetes, or if you develop diabetes during your pregnancy.

Gestational Diabetes

Diabetes can occur at anytime of life, even when you are pregnant.  This condition is known a Gestational Diabetes and is a result of having high blood sugar levels during pregnancy.  This is caused by hormones located in the placenta interfering with insulin that is needed to regulate normal levels of blood sugar.   When the body cannot produce the levels of insulin required gestational diabetes develops resulting in a build-up of sugar in the blood.

Diabetic Side Effects

With Gestational Diabetes problems can occur resulting in the high blood sugar levels in the mother being directly transmitted to the baby. This in turn means the baby is receiving too much energy than is needed for it develop.  The extra energy absorbed means that the mother is likely to give birth to a heavy baby, roughly around 10 pounds in weight at birth.  This is also known as macrosomia.  Whilst this isn’t necessarily a side effect, other problems that may occur are possible shoulder injuries during birth, breathing trouble and a higher chance of being obese later in life.  This can result in type 2 diabetes being developed.

Being Pregnant And A Diabetic

If you are already a diabetic and are pregnant it’s extremely important you seek medical advice as soon as possible.  High levels of blood glucose left untreated can have grave consequences on the unborn baby, usually birth defects and sometimes death can occur.  However, with careful monitoring on how to control diabetes during pregnancy the risks to both mother and baby are dramatically reduced and there is every chance the pregnancy will develop as normal.