During pregnancy, you take care of yourself and the baby inside you by taking food in the right quantum, staying hydrated, and being active. But, as you walk past every trimester, you visit the doctor to keep a check on you and your baby’s health through blood tests and ultrasound scans. So, after the 20th week your doctor will take a urine sample to check your blood pressure, Gestational diabetes is diagnosed anywhere between the 24th and 28th week. Focusing on Gestational diabetes here, you’d be surprised to know that, only 2% and 10% of pregnancies experience Gestational Diabetes.
What Causes Gestational Diabetes?
During pregnancy, the body produces oestrogen and progesterone hormones. Along with these pregnancy hormones, your body will also produce insulin. The production of insulin can keep blood sugar levels normal. However gestational diabetes occurs when your body cannot make insulin in sufficient amounts. There are other reasons linked to gestational diabetes apart from insufficient insulin production. They include:
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
- Having a history of heart disease
- Having high blood pressure
- Being plus-size
- Being physically less active
- When you’re over 25 or 30 years of age
How Can Gestational Diabetes Impact Your Pregnancy and Baby?
As a result of Gestational diabetes, the placenta, essential for foetal development, pass the sugar to the growing baby inside you. There are chances that you’ll deliver a baby, who may be larger than normal size. Your little one may be born with breathing problems, newborn jaundice, and low blood sugar at the time of birth.
Due to a large foetus, you might have difficulty in labour, there are chances of vaginal tearing, and heavy bleeding after you’ve delivered your baby.
With gestational diabetes, developing preeclampsia is also quite common. But there’s nothing to worry about. Every problem has a solution.
How is Gestational Diabetes Treated?
Between the 24th and 28th weeks of your pregnancy, when you visit your healthcare practitioner, he or she will take you through a glucose screening test by checking your urine and blood sample and by asking you to drink sugary water to check your blood sugar levels. The target blood sugar levels during pregnancy should be anywhere between 95 mg/dl or less and 120 mg/dl or less, to 140 mg/dl or less. Your healthcare practitioner will advise you with both medical as well as natural remedies to keep your diabetes under control.
The Natural Remedies
Glucose is after all required to keep your body fuelled with energy. In addition to this, you can keep your growing baby inside you nourished. Therefore, natural ways of treating this health condition are:
Keeping Diet on Track
You must adopt a low-carb diet that is full of healthy fat as well as protein. Focus more on green veggies like sprouts, broccoli, etc. Getting some Vitamin B and high-magnesium foods can also be beneficial.
Be Active to Keep Blood Sugar on Track
Exercise is yet another way to keep your gestational diabetes under control. Give 30 minutes to yourself every day – you can either go out for a brisk walk around your block; or swim.
Get a Peaceful Slumber
Quite naturally, from the first stage of your pregnancy to the last, due to the soaring hormones, frequent bathroom visits, as well as discomfort while taking the correct sleeping position, may make you insomniac during pregnancy. With diabetes, you will feel more so, as insulin sensitivity rapidly reduces. Therefore, doing yoga and meditation to maintain gestational diabetes can help you sleep peacefully. Getting a peaceful slumber may indirectly reduce gestational diabetes.
What is Insulin Therapy?
Maintaining a proper diet and doing a lot of exercises can keep gestational diabetes under control. However, if they somehow don’t, your healthcare practitioner may suggest you take supplementary insulin. Initiating insulin therapy may vary from one pregnant mother to another. So, closely follow the healthcare provider’s advice. Insulin is medically recommended. Insulin does not pass through the placenta and affects the developing baby inside. Therefore, you may be medically prescribed to take four shots in a day. First-trimester insulin requirements are 0.7 units/kg/day, second-trimester insulin requirements are 0.8 units/kg/day, and third-trimester insulin requirements are 0.9-1.0 units/kg/day.
So, with these natural and medical treatment methods, you’ll sail through a healthy pregnancy and deliver a healthy baby. Follow the remedies thoroughly and enjoy the pregnancy fully.