hello. my name is dr. john regan,and i'm the lead obstetrician in charge of the opal team atmonash medical centre clayton. the opal teamspecialise in looking after women whose pregnanciesare complicated with diabetes.
you're most likely watchingthis presentation either because you've been diagnosedwith gestational diabetes or because you may havean interest in this area. gestational diabetes,which we also call gdm,
is defined as diabetes,which occurs in pregnancy and which is not present whenthe pregnancy is finished. it occurs becausethe hormones, which are helping to grow your baby,oppose the action of insulin, which is the hormone responsiblefor lowering blood sugar levels. because of this,pregnant women need to produce more insulin toovercome this resistance. while most women cando this, some cannot.
and it is this group who maydevelop gestational diabetes. gestational diabetes is acompletely different condition to preexisting diabetes,and the two conditions should not be confused. very few women, diagnosedwith gestational diabetes, will experience any symptomsor signs of the condition. increased thirst andurinary frequency are very commonconditions of pregnancy and not a sign you mayhave gestational diabetes.
we recommend that all pregnantwomen have a test for gdm. this test consists of afasting two-hour test, where you're givena glucose drink and then have a blood testperformed, initially at one hour and at two hoursafter the drink. gestational diabetesis diagnosed if these results are abnormal. we generally recommendthis test is performed around 26 to 28 weeks'gestation in most women.
your doctor ormidwife may suggest the test is done earlier, ifyou've had gestational diabetes in the past or any other historyor factor, which may increase your likelihoodof being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. if the test isabnormal and you're diagnosed withgestational diabetes, we will refer you to a diabeteseducator, who will teach you how to monitoryour blood sugars,
which we also call bsls. this is done by prickingthe end of your finger to get a small sample ofblood onto a test strip. we then put the teststrip into a machine, called a glucometer, which tellsus your blood sugar levels. we will want you to dothis four times a day, first thing in the morning priorto eating, and then an hour and a half after each meal. we will ask you torecord these readings
in a book, whichwill be given to you. your blood sugar levelswill vary, depending on your diet andlevel of activity. we may need to reviewyour diet and encourage you to do more exercise,so that your blood sugar levels can be keptin the normal range. for most women, this isall that will be needed. some women will continue to havehigh blood sugar levels, even if they've changed their dietand their level of activity.
these women may needto be given insulin to bring their blood sugarlevels back to a normal range. this is important,as high blood sugar levels can have an impact uponyour body and upon your baby, so it is really importantto monitor and try and keep your blood sugar levelsin the normal range. provided the bsllevels are normal, most women diagnosed withgestational diabetes will not need any change to the type ofcare they're receiving and will
not need antenatal cdgmonitoring or induction of labour, unless there areother indications for this. after the birth ofyour baby, we will want to monitor yourbaby's blood sugar levels in the first 24hours of their life. if these are normal, we do notneed to do anything further. if they are low, we may needto give your baby a little bit of extra milk, such as someof your expressed breast milk or occasionally some formula.
after giving birth,your hormones that have caused you to havegestational diabetes will go, and your blood sugarlevels will rapidly return to a normal range. we may still ask you to do someblood sugar levels while you're in hospital, tocheck that they have returned to a normal level. the early diagnosis andtreatment of diabetes is very important,and some women
Symptoms Of Gestational Diabetes While Pregnant,
will develop diabeteslater in life, and so we'd recommend follow-upwith your gp following the birth of your baby and thensubsequently every two years to ensure you do not becomediabetic later in life.
Now that you realize how to handle your trouble, you happen to be much better ready to create the correct choices and changes in your lifetime. Take into account that these tips will only be related if you are using as most of them as is possible, and thus you ought to begin now to see quick final results.
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