It develops in women during pregnancy Most of us might not know but a lot of women develop high blood sugar levels during pregnancy and this condition is known as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) or gestational diabetes. It usually happens between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy. What does it exactly mean? If you get pregnant and develop gestational diabetes, it doesn’t mean that you had diabetes before pregnancy or will have it afterward. But there is a risk that you will have type 2 diabetes in the future. In fact, it can also raise the chances of you developing diabetes and increase the possibility of complications during delivery. What causes gestational diabetes? While the exact cause of it is unknown, hormones do play a role as the body produces larger amounts of some hormones, like the human placental lactogen (HPL) that causes an increase in insulin resistance, which is the hormone that regulates your blood sugar. If this happens, your blood glucose levels may rise abnormally and that leads to gestational diabetes. Who is more at risk? There is a higher chance of developing gestational diabetes if you have high blood pressure or have a family history of diabetes. There is a higher chance of it if you were also overweight before you became pregnant or are expecting multiple babies or you are suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). How is it diagnosed? While most doctors routinely screen pregnant women for gestational diabetes but if you don’t have any problems during early stages of pregnancy, you will likely be screened for gestational diabetes when you’re 24 to 28 weeks pregnant. The pregnant woman is made to drink glucose solution and then a blood test is done after 1 hour to test for the same. What are the different forms of gestational diabetes? It is divided into two classes. Class A1 is when the condition can be easily managed through diet itself and Class A2 is the stage when the woman needs to undertake insulin or oral medications to handle the situation. What should you eat? If you are trying to manage gestational diabetes. In particular, people with gestational diabetes should pay special attention to their carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake. Take more whole grains, brown rice beans, peas, lentils, and other legumes.
