A Guide to Diabetes and Pregnancy

There is type 1 and type 2 diabetes, which are more commonly known, and then there is gestational diabetes, which is the term used when diabetes and pregnancy are connected. Diabetes and pregnancy can have incredibly serious side effects and complications, and although the diabetes tends to go away on its own once the baby is born, the fact is that the most serious danger can occur to the baby while it in the womb, and this is why the issue of diabetes and pregnancy must be taken so very seriously into consideration.

Diabetes and Pregnancy

Diabetes is a disease in which the blood glucose levels in the body are too high, and this occurs when your body is unable to produce either enough or any insulin. Gestational diabetes, like the other forms, is defined as glucose intolerance, but with its first onset during pregnancy.

Risk Factors

There are certain risk factors for developing diabetes and pregnancy, which includes: age over 35 years, obesity, a history of polycystic ovary syndrome, and hirsutisum. There are also certain developments that gestational diabetes is thought to be associated with, including: larger babies and thus an increased chance of delivery by cesarean section, infant respiratory distress syndrome, low blood sugar levels at birth and prolonged newborn jaundice.

There are also other certain complications that are possible to arise from gestational diabetes, and women with diabetes need to be really careful during their pregnancy, especially if they already had diabetes before they got pregnant. This is because gestational diabetes is associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion, and as well with higher perinatal morbidity. However the good news is that unless they have experienced certain complications, women with diabetes are typically not discouraged from having a baby, and the level of risk for women with diabetes and her baby will largely be determined by the health of the mother just before conception and within the first eleven weeks or so of pregnancy.

It is always important when you have diabetes, whether you are pregnant or not, to maintain constant contact with your physician, so that they can keep a proper eye on your condition and prescribe you the right and best form of treatment for your particular case. As long as you control your diabetes properly, you should not experience any problems, whether you get pregnant or not, and your diabetes should not progress and get more serious.