Gestational Diabetes
What is Gestational Diabetes?
High blood glucose levels in mother --> Brings Extra Glucose to Baby --> Causes baby to gain weight because mom can only produce enough insulin for one.
There’s no doubt gestational diabetes, left uncontrolled, is bad for babies. It can lead to macrosomia, a scientific term for “large body.” Macrosomic babies are often over 10 pounds at birth. Big babies are also health risks for moms. Macrosomia means more cesarean sections, more vaginal tears, and a greater risk of hemorrhaging. It is important for our partner to watch their diets if they are diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
You are said to be in a high-risk group for developing diabetes in pregnancy if:
More info:
http://www.babycenter.com.au/a2058/gestational-diabetes
My Experience:
Monica had to do some routine blood work at the Women's Hospital in Vancouver between her 24-28 week of pregnancy. Her results showed that she had gestational diabetes. I feel like I should probably blame myself for the cause. First off, I was cutting her favorite cantaloupe and buying watermelon slush everyday for the first 3 months as I thought fruit was good for her. I did not stop her from scarfing her 7 servings of fruit down in one session. I then learned that too much of natural sugars from fruit was not good for her. I also learned that she could not eat white rice, which limited her of a of variety on foods. She was given a pretty strict diet by the nutritionist at the hospital. On top of that, she has already has gluten sensitivity, which left an even more narrow selection of food. I admire her for poking herself with a needle 7 times a day to test her sugar levels. We learned that GD was due to a number of factors but I could not help but think that I could have prevented it.
What you can do?
High blood glucose levels in mother --> Brings Extra Glucose to Baby --> Causes baby to gain weight because mom can only produce enough insulin for one.
There’s no doubt gestational diabetes, left uncontrolled, is bad for babies. It can lead to macrosomia, a scientific term for “large body.” Macrosomic babies are often over 10 pounds at birth. Big babies are also health risks for moms. Macrosomia means more cesarean sections, more vaginal tears, and a greater risk of hemorrhaging. It is important for our partner to watch their diets if they are diagnosed with gestational diabetes.
You are said to be in a high-risk group for developing diabetes in pregnancy if:
- you are over 30
- you rapidly gain weight
- you have had gestational diabetes before
- previous pregnancy complications
- you have a family history of diabetes (a parent, grandparent or sibling with diabetes)
- your family origin has a high prevalence of diabetes, particularly if you are of Australian Indigenous, Polynesian, South Asian, Middle Eastern or other Asian descent
More info:
http://www.babycenter.com.au/a2058/gestational-diabetes
My Experience:
Monica had to do some routine blood work at the Women's Hospital in Vancouver between her 24-28 week of pregnancy. Her results showed that she had gestational diabetes. I feel like I should probably blame myself for the cause. First off, I was cutting her favorite cantaloupe and buying watermelon slush everyday for the first 3 months as I thought fruit was good for her. I did not stop her from scarfing her 7 servings of fruit down in one session. I then learned that too much of natural sugars from fruit was not good for her. I also learned that she could not eat white rice, which limited her of a of variety on foods. She was given a pretty strict diet by the nutritionist at the hospital. On top of that, she has already has gluten sensitivity, which left an even more narrow selection of food. I admire her for poking herself with a needle 7 times a day to test her sugar levels. We learned that GD was due to a number of factors but I could not help but think that I could have prevented it.
What you can do?
- Meal preparation - Go over dietitians recommendation and prepare meals in advance. Your partner will often be hungry and you should discuss snack ideas. Monica's choices included a variety and/or a combination of unsweetened Almond Milk, Small Fruit, Whole Grain toast with almond butter/light cream cheese, cheese, nuts, vegetables with hummus.
- Do not eat any snacks or food in front of her that she cannot eat. I would usually eat my junk food in my car or I step out of the house. Do not tease her. I've found my secret stash of snacks go missing.
- Eat what she is eating. You may not enjoy what she is eating. But you are a family. Nobody is left behind.
- Exercise - Go for daily walks after meals to help her lower sugar levels. The recommendation is between 15-30 minutes a day of walking or exercise. 10 minutes after a meal should do the job.
- Appreciate what she is going through and be supportive.
