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Fast Facts |
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Gestational diabetes:
- is a temporary condition that a woman can develop during pregnancy
- blood sugar levels return to normal after delivery
- can be diagnosed 24 to 28 weeks into the pregnancy
- indicates certain risk factors
Maternal diabetes:
- refers to women who are already diabetic when they become pregnant.
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Pregnancy (Gestational)
Gestational diabetes is believed
to occur in two to four per cent of pregnancies.
A
small percentage of non-diabetic women can develop diabetes during
their pregnancy. This is termed Gestational diabetes. Usually, there
are no symptoms of Gestational diabetes, which is diagnosed through
blood tests 24 to 28 weeks into the pregnancy, but it does indicate
that the women's body may be having difficulty in handling sugar
during pregnancy.Women with Gestational diabetes should consult
their own physician, and their baby's doctor, about how best to
lower their future risk of type 2 diabetes.
Risk Factors
In gestational diabetes, blood sugar levels return to normal after
delivery. However, the woman faces a higher lifelong risk of developing
type 2 diabetes, and her baby is also more likely to develop the
disease later in life. Gestational diabetes is believed to be associated
with:
- larger babies, and thus an increased chance of delivery by
caesarean section
- infant respiratory distress syndrome,
- low blood sugar levels at birth, and
- prolonged newborn jaundice.
Complications of Maternal
Diabetes
Women with diabetes need careful pre-pregnancy planning, intensive
management throughout their pregnancy and close follow-up after
giving birth. This is because gestational diabetes is associated
with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion, and with higher
perinatal morbidity (sick newborns) and mortality rates. The major
cause of perinatal mortality is congenital malformations, and women
with diabetes are two to seven times more likely to have congenitally
malformed offspring.
The good news: Unless they have experienced eye
complications, damage to their kidneys or have heart disease, women
with diabetes are typically not discouraged from having a baby.
The level of risk for women with diabetes and her baby is largely
determined by the health of the mother just before conception and
within the first 11 weeks of pregnancy. The baby's organs begin
to develop within the first five to 11 weeks so good blood sugar
control is important during this time.
Reference: Kim Barnes, RN, BSCN, CDE, a diabetes
nurse educator at Women's College Hospital.
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