Gestational diabetes or also called GDM (gestational diabetes mellitus) is a medical condition in which expecting mothers’ blood sugar levels become higher than normal. GDM is distinguished from diabetes type 1 or 2 because it occurs during pregnancy. Moreover, expecting mothers were not diagnosed prior to pregnancy with diabetes and in about 60% of all cases it should go away following delivery. Now all pregnant women are subject to take the blood glucose test because of a potential risk of miscarriage or other problems during pregnancy and labor. Since, diabetes might affect mothers in late pregnancy your health care provider will do the glucose check about on 28 week or third trimester. They do first one hour test for which normally no fasting is required. 50 gm of a high glucose beverage will be offered to you that should be drunk in front of a nurse within 5 minutes. After that you need to return to the lab in an hour. While waiting you can go on your regular doctor or midwife checkup in order not to waste time. You will be prohibited to eat or drink during this hour. After one hour is past, they will take your blood sample. In a few days a nurse might call you if your blood sugar level exceeds 140 mg/dL in order to schedule a three hour glucose test. If this one hour test will show not good result it doesn’t necessary mean that second three hour test should be bad as well. In most cases it won't.
Before three hour test you will have to fast for about 10 hours. Therefore, it is better to make the appointment in the early morning and do not eat after you had your diner. When you arrive to the lab they make a blood sample right away in order to check what your fasting blood glucose level is. Then they will give you a 100 gm of high glucose beverage. After that the nurse will ask you to return in one hour to collect blood samples and then in 2 hours and 3 hours. You cannot eat anything during the entire three hours test. So, it is a good idea to take a snack from home that you can eat right after they take your last blood sample. If two out of four tests will be not good or higher than normal limits, your health care provider will diagnose you with gestational diabetes.
Even if they do diagnose you with GDM, it is not that bad as it seems like. Therefore, you shouldn’t worry and panic. Normally diabetes treated with just a diet and physical activities which are good for your health whether you have diabetes or not, anyway. In addition, gestational diabetes does not cause the kinds of newborns’ birth defects that can be seen in some babies whose mothers had type 1 or 2 diabetes before pregnancy. Despite the fact that you don’t feel like sick and might don't believe that they give you right result, it is still better to follow doctors' and midwives' advices. Monitor your sugar level every day and follow the diet that your doctor will recommend you. Analyzing and controlling your everyday blood sugar levels might help you to avoid any further problems even without medication. Your health care provider will help and teach you how to control gestational diabetes during pregnancy and insure that everything will be fine while in labor.
Medical Disclaimer
The author is not a doctor and the information in the article is general in nature with no medical advises given or imply. Talk to your doctor, nurse or medical advisor how to treat health related problems.