When is glucose test done in pregnancy?

(June 26, 2010)

Glucose Test In Pregnancy

Do you have a history of diabetes in your family? Then the chances of getting gestational diabetes are high during pregnancy. You need to be very careful if you are pregnant. Your doctor may ask you to get a glucose tolerance test (GTT) done to determine if you have diabetes or not.

This test is done when you are around 24 to 28 weeks pregnant. This is a normal blood sugar test wherein you may be asked to consume a sugary drink and then blood is drawn from your veins using a needle. The blood is then sent for testing to check the sugar level in your body. If you have a family history of gestational diabetes then your doctor may ask you to get this test done in the earlier weeks of pregnancy.

During pregnancy your body undergoes several hormonal changes and you also tend to gain weight. At that time the insulin levels tend to fluctuate too. When your body is unable to manage this fluctuation, it may not be in a position to process sugar. As a result, sugar accumulates in your system and this leads to gestational diabetes.
If you are suffering from gestational diabetes, it can also affect your blood pressure and can lead to a condition known as preeclampsia. This can increase the chances of you having a large baby and a C-section type of delivery.

The good news is that in most cases gestational diabetes goes away once the baby is born. However, your baby can get type 2 diabetes in the later stages of his/her life. Also, it can increase the chances of suffering a miscarriage or increase the risks of a possible preterm labor.

Effects of Gestational Diabetes on Baby

While gestational diabetes can affect you in many ways, it can affect your baby too. Let us take a look at some of the effects of gestational diabetes on your baby:

• The baby may be too large and may have extra fat.
• Your baby may suffer from low blood sugar immediately after birth and can have problems while breathing.

Gestational diabetes can be tackled by having a good diet plan and by taking the proper medication or insulin shots as prescribed by your doctor. Make sure you get your blood sugar checked as suggested by your doctor. Breastfeeding your child is a must and the chances of your child getting type 2 diabetes are lower if you breastfeed your child.

Submitted by P T on June 26, 2010 at 07:24