When I mentioned to friends and colleagues that my sister had gestational diabetes I was surprised by how many people told me they also had suffered with this condition. My sister was not that lucky. She had to monitor her blood sugar and give herself insulin shots.
Gestational diabetes is the most common complication during pregnancy, which affects 2-3 percent of pregnant women. When you eat food, your body converts it to glucose and it enters your bloodstream. Your pancreas releases insulin to help convert the glucose into fuel for your body. If your body cannot produce enough insulin to convert the glucose into energy the glucose remains in the bloodstream, which is known as high blood sugar and is referred to as Diabetes. Gestational diabetes unlike normal diabetes is just for the period of time you are pregnant and disappears once the baby is born.
With a healthy diet and exercise gestational diabetes can normally be controlled. On the rare occasion you may have to administer insulin shots. My sister had fun during her pregnancy testing her blood sugar regularly and giving herself insulin shots. Towards the end of the pregnancy she was tired of the shots and was extremely happy when the doctor told her she could stop with the shots after her daughter was born.
My sister just had her second child and again dealt with gestational diabetes during her pregnancy. Normally once you’ve experienced gestational diabetes with one pregnancy you are more likely to endure it again during your next pregnancy.
There are some factors that can make you more at risk for gestational diabetes, which include:
The risk of getting gestational diabetes also increases as you get older. During pregnancy you will be tested at about 26-28 weeks and if the preliminary test is positive then a Glucose Tolerance test will probably be done. If you are at higher risk to get gestational diabetes you will often be tested earlier in your pregnancy.
Many people have normal births without complications with gestational diabetes. There are a few extra tests and monitoring that are done depending on the severity of the gestational diabetes. Some women will have a caesarean section because having high blood sugar can cause the baby to grow too large for a normal delivery.
After giving birth the gestational diabetes normally disappears. Your newborn will also be checked as some babies can be born with low blood sugar. Good diet and a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your chances of getting Gestational diabetes so when you are thinking of getting pregnant is sure to take extra care of yourself for the sake of your own health and the health of your baby.
How a Gestational Diabetes Diet Can Help In Your Pregnancy
For a healthy woman to have normal pregnancy, she just needs to have a nutritionally balanced diet. A pregnant woman suffering from gestational diabetes, however, needs to be extra careful in her diet. Her diet needs to take into consideration her diabetic condition as it is probably the only way she can control her blood sugar level without having to resort to insulin injections.
How To Eat During Pregnancy
to maintain a proper gestational diabetes diet, the diet should keep the mother's blood sugar as normal as possible and at the same time, it has to provide all the required nutrition to both the mother and growing fetus. This includes larger amounts of minerals and vitamins which can be taken in the form of lower fat diary products, whole grain cereals and breads, fruits and vegetables. If the doctor prescribed additional prenatal vitamins, they should be taken in conjunction with the proper gestational diet. During pregnancy, the caloric increase is around 300 calories per day during the second and third trimesters. When in doubt, always consult your doctor.
Foods to avoid
all food high in sugars should be avoided at all cost. This includes pies, ice creams, sweets, cakes, cookies, soft drinks, commercial yogurt, jams and jelly. Eating such high sugared food will cause spikes in the blood sugar level which are dangerous. A gestational diabetes diet must be designed to keep the blood sugar at a normal level and thus cannot include food that contains high amount of sugar. Even fruit juices should be taken sparingly as it contains high level of sugar naturally (even without additional sugar added). Tomato juice is probably the best choice for fruit juice in the diet as it contains the lowest level of sugar.
Foods to Take
There are some types of foods which should be taken in order to help decrease the amount of insulin required to keep the blood sugar at normal range. Food such as vegetables, cereal, grains, beans, peas and other starchy foods or complex carbohydrates are excellent. In the gestational diabetes diet, dietary fiber must be included too as they are crucial in helping with the digestive process. This includes whole grain cereals and breads, fruits, vegetables and legumes.
However do not cut out all the fats in the diet. Some fats are required in the diet to complete the nutrition as they are required in the absorption of certain vitamins by the body. Diabetes and pregnancy can be controlled and monitored through a healthy gestational diabetes diet. This will ensure a healthy pregnancy and a normal successful delivery.
Gestational diabetes is the most common complication during pregnancy, which affects 2-3 percent of pregnant women. When you eat food, your body converts it to glucose and it enters your bloodstream. Your pancreas releases insulin to help convert the glucose into fuel for your body. If your body cannot produce enough insulin to convert the glucose into energy the glucose remains in the bloodstream, which is known as high blood sugar and is referred to as Diabetes. Gestational diabetes unlike normal diabetes is just for the period of time you are pregnant and disappears once the baby is born.
With a healthy diet and exercise gestational diabetes can normally be controlled. On the rare occasion you may have to administer insulin shots. My sister had fun during her pregnancy testing her blood sugar regularly and giving herself insulin shots. Towards the end of the pregnancy she was tired of the shots and was extremely happy when the doctor told her she could stop with the shots after her daughter was born.
My sister just had her second child and again dealt with gestational diabetes during her pregnancy. Normally once you’ve experienced gestational diabetes with one pregnancy you are more likely to endure it again during your next pregnancy.
There are some factors that can make you more at risk for gestational diabetes, which include:
- Obesity
- Family history of Type 2 diabetes
- Gestational diabetes in a previous background
- Smoking
The risk of getting gestational diabetes also increases as you get older. During pregnancy you will be tested at about 26-28 weeks and if the preliminary test is positive then a Glucose Tolerance test will probably be done. If you are at higher risk to get gestational diabetes you will often be tested earlier in your pregnancy.
Many people have normal births without complications with gestational diabetes. There are a few extra tests and monitoring that are done depending on the severity of the gestational diabetes. Some women will have a caesarean section because having high blood sugar can cause the baby to grow too large for a normal delivery.
After giving birth the gestational diabetes normally disappears. Your newborn will also be checked as some babies can be born with low blood sugar. Good diet and a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your chances of getting Gestational diabetes so when you are thinking of getting pregnant is sure to take extra care of yourself for the sake of your own health and the health of your baby.
How a Gestational Diabetes Diet Can Help In Your Pregnancy
For a healthy woman to have normal pregnancy, she just needs to have a nutritionally balanced diet. A pregnant woman suffering from gestational diabetes, however, needs to be extra careful in her diet. Her diet needs to take into consideration her diabetic condition as it is probably the only way she can control her blood sugar level without having to resort to insulin injections.
How To Eat During Pregnancy
to maintain a proper gestational diabetes diet, the diet should keep the mother's blood sugar as normal as possible and at the same time, it has to provide all the required nutrition to both the mother and growing fetus. This includes larger amounts of minerals and vitamins which can be taken in the form of lower fat diary products, whole grain cereals and breads, fruits and vegetables. If the doctor prescribed additional prenatal vitamins, they should be taken in conjunction with the proper gestational diet. During pregnancy, the caloric increase is around 300 calories per day during the second and third trimesters. When in doubt, always consult your doctor.
Foods to avoid
all food high in sugars should be avoided at all cost. This includes pies, ice creams, sweets, cakes, cookies, soft drinks, commercial yogurt, jams and jelly. Eating such high sugared food will cause spikes in the blood sugar level which are dangerous. A gestational diabetes diet must be designed to keep the blood sugar at a normal level and thus cannot include food that contains high amount of sugar. Even fruit juices should be taken sparingly as it contains high level of sugar naturally (even without additional sugar added). Tomato juice is probably the best choice for fruit juice in the diet as it contains the lowest level of sugar.
Foods to Take
There are some types of foods which should be taken in order to help decrease the amount of insulin required to keep the blood sugar at normal range. Food such as vegetables, cereal, grains, beans, peas and other starchy foods or complex carbohydrates are excellent. In the gestational diabetes diet, dietary fiber must be included too as they are crucial in helping with the digestive process. This includes whole grain cereals and breads, fruits, vegetables and legumes.
However do not cut out all the fats in the diet. Some fats are required in the diet to complete the nutrition as they are required in the absorption of certain vitamins by the body. Diabetes and pregnancy can be controlled and monitored through a healthy gestational diabetes diet. This will ensure a healthy pregnancy and a normal successful delivery.
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