Gestational Diabetes: When Meeting with a Nutritionist Is Essential for the Health of You and Your Unborn Baby

Posted on: 26 October 2015

If you have recently been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it's important to take your nutrition seriously. This is a form of diabetes that causes your blood sugar to be too high during a pregnancy. While your blood sugar will likely return to normal after you give birth, it's necessary to keep your blood sugar under control throughout your pregnancy to avoid any complications.

Larger-Than-Average Birth Weights with Gestational Diabetes

When you keep your blood sugar levels under control, you are very likely to deliver a healthy baby naturally. But if your blood sugar levels remain high throughout your pregnancy, the additional glucose in your body has an effect on your baby. Your baby's pancreas will produce extra insulin, which in turn makes your baby grow more rapidly. Babies born to mothers with uncontrolled gestational diabetes tend to be larger and many need to be delivered via Cesarean section.

Premature Birth Because of Gestational Diabetes

High blood sugar levels can lead to premature birth, another reason for mothers to do their best to control their blood sugar levels while they are pregnant. When babies are born too early, they may suffer from respiratory distress. Your baby may have to be delivered early if he or she is growing too quickly, another reason to keep blood sugar levels in check when you are pregnant.

Fluctuating Blood Sugars and the Effect on the Pregnant Mother

When your blood sugar is going up and down rapidly, you aren't going to feel well. If you have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), you run the risk of fainting. Severe low blood sugar attacks can cause significant health problems, including coma and death if you are not treated quickly enough. You must treat yourself as if you are a true diabetic, and not simply see this condition as just part of your pregnancy. While gestational diabetes is generally gone right after birth, gestational diabetes during your pregnancy must be treated the same as if you were a type I or type II diabetic.

Both high and low blood sugars can make you feel tired, shaky, confused, and unstable. To avoid the highs and lows of a fluctuating blood sugar, it's important to eat a well-balanced diet. The better you can control your blood sugar with your diet, the less likely you will have to depend on insulin while you are pregnant.

If you have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it's time to sit down with a nutritionist and come up with an eating plan that works for you.


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