When thinking about pregnancy glucose test, you should know that this screens for gestational diabetes. If the blood sugar levels turn out to be higher than normal, you will have to have some other tests as well. The one hour test only does screening, while the three hour test offers you an exact diagnosis.
For whom is the glucose pregnancy test
It is routine for the doctors to ask women to get tested for gestational diabetes. However there are some doctors who say that only those women should be tested who belong to a high risk group. This means that the obese women or the women with some family history of this problem will certainly be tested.
How is the glucose test during pregnancy performed?
It all starts with you having to drink a glucose solution. After this you have to wait. Some of the doctors give this solution to their patients in advance so that they go to the office prepared. After an hour a specialist will draw your blood and this will be tested for glucose.
If the results of the pregnancy glucose test show high levels of blood sugar that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have gestational diabetes. This only means that you will need another test. For this you will have to fast overnight. You will have your blood drawn the next morning and you will have to drink another mixture.
After this, for the glucose tolerance test, the specialists will draw your blood three times. After the testing you could be diagnosed having gestational diabetes. If this is the case you will have to see a nutritionist and you will have a special diet. In this case it is important for you to monitor your blood sugar levels regularly.
When is the pregnancy glucose test done?
Normally this test is performed between weeks 24 and 28 of your pregnancy. It is possible that your doctor will ask you to get tested earlier. This usually happens if you have several tests with the same result or if you were affected by gestational diabetes during a previous pregnancy.
Risks
Most probably you are interested in the possible risks of the glucose tolerance pregnancy test. The good news is that there are no major risks associated with the test. However you should expect to have a tangy taste once you are done with it.
When it comes to pregnancy glucose test the parents are also interested in the effects of gestational diabetes. The biggest risk in this case is to have an abnormally large baby. The baby could be at risk of having birth injuries or type 2 diabetes as he or she develops.
Nonetheless you should know that even though the pregnancy test for glucose tolerance shows that you are affected, you could have a healthy baby if you monitor your health closely.
Now you know more about the pregnancy glucose test and you also know what to expect during the test and what the results could mean.
