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Gestational Diabetes: Causes, Treatment and Prevention

Gestational diabetes is a condition in which a woman suffers from diabetes during pregnancy. While gestational diabetes can cause pregnancy complications, it is a highly manageable condition that affects only about 4 percent of all pregnant women. Gestational diabetes usually disappears after the baby is born.

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Causes of Gestational Diabetes

Although doctors are unsure as to the precise causes of gestational diabetes, the hormones in the placenta that help the baby to develop can cause insulin resistance in the mother, making it harder for her body to use insulin. Pregnant women who develop an insulin resistance may need up to three times as much as insulin as they did prior to pregnancy. When the mother's body can't produce and use all the insulin it needs to support the pregnancy, gestational diabetes occurs.

Risk Factors for Gestational Diabetes

Certain conditions can increase your risk for developing gestational diabetes, including:

a diagnosis of pre-diabetes, also called impaired glucose tolerance
age (women over 25 have higher risk)
family history of diabetes
obesity
personal medical history of gestational diabetes
race (African American, Hispanic, Asian and American Indian women are more likely to have gestational diabetes).

Gestational Diabetes Symptoms

Unfortunately, gestational diabetes rarely has noticeable symptoms. As a result, your doctor will likely determine your risk level and test for it accordingly. For example, if you're at high risk, your doctor may perform a test at your first prenatal visit. Alternately, patients with an average risk will likely undergo testing during their 24th to 28th week of pregnancy. Doctors generally don’t test low-risk patients for gestational diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes Complications

If left untreated, gestational diabetes can harm your baby by causing:

breathing difficulties for newborns
increased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes later in life
jaundice, a condition in which the baby’s underdeveloped or damage liver can’t process blood cell waste, causing the newborn to appear yellowish
low glucose levels at birth
macrosomia, or "fat" baby, a condition in which a newborn is abnormally large (generally over 10 pounds).

Gestational Diabetes Treatments

Because no cure exists for any type of diabetes, treatments for gestational diabetes revolve around minimizing symptoms through diet, exercise and lifestyle choices. Talk to your doctor about an appropriate meal plan and exercise regimen. Depending on the severity of your case, you may need to also check your own blood sugar levels and take insulin.

After the Pregnancy

For most women, gestational diabetes goes away after the pregnancy. However, in some cases, diabetes can persist even after a woman has given birth. Consequently, have your glucose levels checked six to 12 weeks after the baby is born to determine whether you still have diabetes. If gestational diabetes turns into type 2 diabetes, talk to your doctor about appropriate diet, exercise and lifestyle changes you need to make. The severity of your condition will determine whether or not you have to take insulin.

Preventing Gestational Diabetes

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help prevent you from developing both gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes. For example, being over 20 percent heavier than your ideal weight significantly increases your chances of developing diabetes. As a result, even losing a few pounds can help lower your risk. While you don't want to lose weight during pregnancy, if you're planning on becoming pregnant then you should consider reaching a healthy body weight beforehand.

Regular physical activity also helps in preventing gestational diabetes since it allows your body to learn how to use stored glucose without needing extra insulin from an outside source. Training your body in this manner can help prevent the development of insulin resistance and, thereby, ward off gestational diabetes.

Finally, eating a well-balanced, low-fat, healthy diet also helps prevent diabetes. Rather than eating processed foods, try to fill your diet with fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean sources of protein (i.e., fish, tofu, lean cuts of meat).

The Good News

While it's hard not to panic when it comes to the health of your baby, the good news is that gestational diabetes is easy to treat and manage as long as you work closely with your health care team. By managing your glucose levels and keeping the gestational diabetes under control, you should have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

Resources

American Diabetes Association (n.d.). Gestational Diabetes. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from the American Diabetes Association Web site: http://www.diabetes.org/gestational-diabetes.jsp.

Mayo Clinic (2007). Gestational Diabetes. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from the Mayo Clinic Web site: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gestational-diabetes/DS00316.

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (2006). What I Need To Know About Gestational Diabetes. Retrieved August 31, 2007, from the NDIC Web site: http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/gestational/.

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This site is designed to provide information, not medical advice. Please consult your physician if you have any questions or concerns.