Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

If you are thinking about gestational diabetes mellitus you should know that it can be defined as any level of glucose intolerance that is discovered during pregnancy.

The definition is the same, regardless whether you use insulin or diet modifications to treat it and whether the problem persists after childbirth or not.

Facts about the GDM condition

The truth is that about 7% of pregnant women are affected by the problem on a yearly basis, meaning about 200,000 cases per year. The prevalence ranges between 1% and 14%. This depends on the population taken into consideration and the tests used.

GDM detection and diagnosis

The risks associated with this condition should be assessed during the first prenatal visit. The women belonging to the high risk group must have a glucose test as soon as possible. If they don’t have the condition they need to be tested again at 24-28 weeks of pregnancy.

This is the time when women with average risk of the condition known as GDM should be tested for the first time. If you belong to the low risk group, you don’t necessarily need to be tested. In order to belong to this group you should be younger than 25 years old.

In the same time gestational diabetes mellitus is less likely to appear if you have a normal weight before pregnancy, if you belong to an ethnic group with a low prevalence of the condition and if you have no family history of GDM.

Therapeutic strategies

The surveillance of the gestational diabetes mellitus is supposed to be directed to recognize the levels of hyperglycemia at levels that become dangerous for the baby. It is better for women to monitor themselves on a daily basis than to opt for intermittent office monitoring.

You should know about the GDM problem that in this case urine glucose monitoring isn’t such a good idea. If you are treated by calorie restriction, you could be thinking about urine ketone monitoring to detect insufficient carbohydrate or caloric intake.

The maternal surveillance in case of gestational diabetes mellitus should include urine protein monitoring and blood pressure monitoring to be able to detect the hypertensive disorders. Asymmetric fetal growth should be assessed through an ultrasonography. This is especially important during the third trimester.

Management

In case you are affected by the problem of GDM it is important for you to receive nutritional counseling. Based on your weight and height you should receive individualized medical nutrition therapy. Insulin therapy should be added to these kinds of management methods in order to achieve the best results.

The truth is that gestational diabetes mellitus isn’t very easy to live with and you have to keep in mind that all your actions in this case have an effect on the baby. However you should also remember that there are a lot of women who go through the same things that you are going through and they give birth to entirely healthy babies while maintaining their own health during their pregnancy.