Although the cause of gestational diabetes is not known, there are some theories as to why the condition occurs.
1. Some of these hormones can have a blocking effect on insulin in the mother’s body.
2. The greater amount of hormones causes the insulin to become resistant.
In either case the mother should check her blood sugar levels regularly and notify her doctor if anything changes in her condition.
Risk Factors:
Although any woman can develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy, some of the factors that may increase the risk include the following:
- obesity
- family history of diabetes
- having given birth previously to a very large infant, a still birth, or a child with a birth defect
- having too much amniotic fluid
- age - Women who are older than 25 are at a greater risk for developing gestational diabetes than younger women.
Although increased glucose in the urine is often included in the list of risk factors, it is not believed to be a reliable indicator for gestational diabetes.
Symptoms:
Often times a woman experiences no symptoms at all.
However the symptoms of
type 2 diabetes
may occur in gestational diabetes also. Some of the symptoms are the same as a woman in a normal pregnancy would exhibit. Those symptoms are:
1. Extreme thirst
2. An increased need to urinate.
3. Hunger
4. Fatigue (These first four symptoms are often conditions that occur during the last trimester of a pregnancy)
5. Blurred vision
6. Frequent infections such as infections of the bladder or vagina.
7. Excessive weight gain during pregnancy.
Medical Treatments:
Treatment focuses on keeping blood glucose levels in the normal range. Treatment may include:
Unlike
type 1 diabetes,
gestational generally does not cause birth defects. Birth defects usually originate sometime during the first trimester (before the 13th week) of pregnancy. Women with this diagnosis generally have normal blood sugar levels during the critical first trimester when most birth defects normally occur.
The complications are usually manageable and preventable. The key to prevention is careful control of blood sugar levels just as soon as the diagnosis is made.
Infants of mothers are vulnerable to several chemical imbalances, such as low serum calcium and low serum magnesium levels, but, in general, there are two major problems of: macrosomia and hypoglycemia.
- Macrosomia refers to a baby that is considerably larger than normal. All of the nutrients the fetus receives come directly from the mother's blood. If the maternal blood has too much glucose, the pancreas of the fetus senses the high glucose levels and produces more insulin in an attempt to use this glucose. The fetus converts the extra glucose to fat. Even when the mother has diabetes, the fetus is able to produce all the insulin it needs. The combination of high blood glucose levels from the mother and high insulin levels in the fetus results in large deposits of fat which causes the fetus to grow excessively large.
- Hypoglycemia refers to low blood sugar in the baby immediately after delivery. This problem occurs if the mother's blood sugar levels have been consistently high, causing the fetus to have a high level of insulin in its circulation. After delivery, the baby continues to have a high insulin level, but it no longer has the high level of sugar from its mother, resulting in the newborn's blood sugar level becoming very low. The baby's blood sugar level is checked after birth, and if the level is too low, it may be necessary to give the baby glucose intravenously.
