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Midlife Mother
Directory
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combining families or coparenting after divorce or separation
Editor:
Jann Blackstone-Ford, M.A.
Psychological Advisor:
Susan Bartell, Psy. D.
Health Editor:
Ginny Porter
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What Is Gestational Diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a disorder in the way
the body gets energy from food. It occurs:
 | When there isn't enough insulin, a
hormone made by the pancreas that is essential for using food
properly, or
| When the insulin the body makes
doesn't work normally |
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Glucose is a sugar that results from the
digestion of food. When food is digested, glucose enters the bloodstream
and is carried to all the cells in your body. Your cells use glucose as
fuel-it is the energy that keeps you alive.
Insulin is the key that lets glucose into
your cells. Without insulin, glucose can't be used for energy. Instead,
it builds up in the blood. High levels of glucose in the blood can, over
many years, damage blood vessels, nerves and vital organs. Some people
with diabetes need daily insulin injections to prevent these
complications.
There are three main types of diabetes:
type 1, type 2 and gestational. Type 1 is also known as juvenile
diabetes, and type 2 is known as adult onset diabetes. In relation to a
woman's pregnancy, these would be described as "pre-existing"
diabetes.
Gestational diabetes develops during
pregnancy, typically between weeks 24 and 28, and generally disappears
following the birth. All types have similar symptoms and result when
there is too much sugar, or glucose, in the blood.
During pregnancy, diabetes can cause
complications that affect both you and your baby. These problems are
largely preventable. You can control diabetes, reduce your health risks
and protect your baby by following these steps:
| Maintain a special diet
| Monitor your blood glucose
| Follow a regular exercise program
| Use insulin when necessary |
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Facts About Diabetes In Pregnancy
| Eight million women have diabetes, a
condition that affects the way your body uses food. Some develop
diabetes as children. Others, especially if they are overweight,
become diabetic when they are adults. In addition, one in 20
pregnant women gets a type of diabetes called gestational diabetes.
| Gestational diabetes develops in about
4 percent of all pregnant women - about 135,000 pregnant women in
the United States each year.
| Unlike other types of diabetes that
last a lifetime, gestational diabetes usually disappears when a
woman gives birth.
| Up to 50% of women with gestational
diabetes will, however, develop permanent type 2 diabetes within 10
to 15 years.
| If you have had gestational diabetes
once, you're likely to develop it again in subsequent pregnancies.
| If you are overweight after pregnancy,
you have a 60% chance of developing type 2 diabetes in the next 10
to 20 years. If you maintain a reasonable weight and exercise
regularly, your chances of developing diabetes are less than 25%. |
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Provided by YourMedicalSource.com |
Additional Medical
Concerns
What's it feel
like? |
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| Need To Know
When talking about how much
glucose is in your blood, your doctor may use the term
"blood glucose" or "blood sugar"
interchangeably.
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