Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

Before moving on to the gestational diabetes test you should know that gestational diabetes refers to the kind of diabetes that affects women during their pregnancy. If this happens, women need to be closely monitored and in the majority of the cases, the condition disappears after delivery.

Information on testing for gestational diabetes

At the moment there are no screening guidelines for this problem. There are some specialists who are asking whether women under the age of 25 need any screening in case they have no risk factors. On the other hand there are also some who say that all women should be screened to recognize the condition.

When to screen?

When you get pregnant, your doctor will consider testing for gestational diabetes and he or she will evaluate the possible risk factors. For sure you will get tested if you are at high risk. This is the case if your body mass index is higher than 30 or of you have family history of diabetes.

If you happen to be at average risk then you may have a gestational diabetes test when you will be in the second trimester.

Routine screening

One of the tests that specialists are using is glucose challenge test. In case of this kind of testing for gestational diabetes, you will have to drink a glucose solution. An hour later you will have a blood test to measure your blood sugar level. The interpretation of the results could vary from one clinic to the other.

In case of this gestational diabetes test if you have elevated results it doesn’t necessary mean that you have gestational diabetes; it only means that you are at risk of developing the condition. After this you will have a follow-up test and that will determine the final diagnosis.

Once this is done you could have another testing for gestational diabetes. For this you will have to fast overnight, and the fasting will be tested to determine the glucose level. Then you will have to drink a sweet solution and your blood sugar level will be checked on an hourly basis.

If you have this gestational diabetes test and your results is higher than normal in two cases, the doctor will tell you that you have gestational diabetes.

What if your results are positive?

In case you are diagnosed having the condition, your doctor will monitor you more closely and you will have frequent checkups. You will have more tests during the last trimester. As a result of the testing for gestational diabetes your blood sugar level will be checked many times. This is a part of the treatment plan.

It is possible that you will have problems with regulating your blood sugar level or you will need insulin, or you will have some other kinds of complications. If this is the case, you will need some other tests as well besides gestational diabetes test for the doctors to assess the health of the baby.

The tests are performed to see how the placenta functions. This is one of the most important organs because it delivers oxygen and other nutrients to the little one when he or she is still in the womb. After testing for gestational diabetes if the condition is hard to control, it could have an effect on the placenta and it could affect the baby.

Nonstress test

Besides the gestational diabetes test you could also have a test of this kind. During the test you will have some sensors on your belly to measure the heart rate of the little one. This should increase when the baby moves.