Updated: 23-07-2025
Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs only during pregnancy.
It is detected only in women. Gestational diabetes during pregnancy is very commonly seen in many women across the globe.
Hormonal changes in women during pregnancy increase blood sugar levels to high levels, which can develop into gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes includes various risks and side effects.
If gestational diabetes is not treated at the right time, it affects both the mother and the baby.
Statistics of Gestational Diabetes:
On an average 2.5% of women develop gestational diabetes.7-9% women can develop risk factors of gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
How to Prevent Gestational Diabetes During Pregnancy?
Causes of Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes occurs when a woman’s body doesn’t produce enough insulin during pregnancy.
Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas. It provides glucose to the body to maintain proper and neutral sugar levels, helping to energise the body.
During pregnancy, every woman undergoes various hormonal and body changes, like weight gain, etc.
At this point, the body is unable to use enough insulin from the pancreas as required; this condition is known as insulin resistance.
Through insulin resistance, the quantity of insulin is increased.
Insulin resistance happens to women at different times, such as during late pregnancy or during pregnancy, depending on the health condition and weight.
Mostly, overweight people face gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
What happens to the women already with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes?
A woman already suffering from type 1 or type 2 diabetes should consult a doctor before planning for pregnancy.
Ignored, untreated, and uncontrolled diabetes will lead to various severe problems for the baby.
Proper planning, controls over diabetes, regular medication, and monthly checkups are a must for every woman.
Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes
There are no major symptoms or signs of gestational diabetes during pregnancy or before getting pregnant.
Some of the gestational diabetes symptoms are similar to the type-2 diabetes symptoms, and a few are listed below.
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Sugar in Urine
- Blurred Vision
- Unusual thirst
- Continuous urination or wee
- Frequent vaginal, bladder, and skin infections
Risk Factors of Gestational Diabetes
The risk factors for gestational diabetes during pregnancy include the following.
- Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes before pregnancy an excessive amount of belly fat or abdominal fat
- More time spent on bed rest at the time of pregnancy can also create gestational diabetes.
- Family history of having gestational diabetes during pregnancy or any other type of diabetes
- Being more overweight than age and height, which decreases the insulin level flow to the pancreas, causes the blood sugar level to increase rapidly due to an insufficient amount of insulin.
- Previous pregnancy: people affected with gestational diabetes
- To those mothers whose baby was born with a large weight (above 4 kg) in the previous pregnancy
Does gestational diabetes affect the baby?
Gestational diabetes has adverse effects on both the mother and her offspring, with short-term and long-term health consequences.
If it is treated properly and at the right time, there would be no harm to either the mother or her newborn baby.
If there is no extra care and regular checkups on sugar levels, the blood sugar will circulate throughout the body in the form of blood, and if excess sugar enters the foetus, then there would be a severe effect on the woman and the unborn baby.
This may also increase difficulties in normal delivery and can cause a C-section.
Uncontrolled diabetes will start affecting the unborn baby after birth, with the following conditions.
- Jaundice
- Breathing difficulties
- Low blood sugar levels
Later on, as age increases, there are chances of getting obesity or type 2 diabetes, baby.
If mothers control their blood sugar levels, then there is a chance of getting affected by these symptoms.
Tests to Diagnose Gestational Diabetes (GD)
The GD is diagnosed by a blood test. There would be an initial screen test for pregnant women.
The screen test follows the following major aspects.
Screening guidelines for gestational diabetes during pregnancy
- It is mandatory to go through a screening test for gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
- Generally, this test is done between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy.
- Women with this condition in a previous pregnancy should get this test at the start of the pregnancy.
- Few women might get the chance of taking this test at an early stage due to health conditions, if any risk factors or symptoms are noticed.
Other General Tests for GDOnce
- As the screening test is complete, the glucose tolerance test is conducted to check the glucose levels in the body by making the patient drink sugary beverages. After drinking, the test is conducted after one hour.
- If the glucose tolerance test is not normal, further tests are conducted.
- Another type of test is the Oral Glucose Challenge Test (OGTT). This also takes a 3-hour gap between the test and drinking sugary beverages.
- Glycosylated haemoglobin, or haemoglobin A1c, is another type of test that is conducted according to the situation and the previous test results.
Also Read: Frequently asked questions about pregnancy.
Treatments for Gestational Diabetes
The primary target of treating gestational diabetes during pregnancy is controlling blood sugar levels within the body to keep the mother and baby duo safe and healthy.
The treatment of gestational diabetes doesn’t include many hospital treatments.
They can be treated in a natural way with the help of a regular doctor and yourself.
Follow the steps mentioned below to treat and control gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
- Start your day with regular exercise.
- Eat healthy food that contains plenty of minerals, nutrients, proteins, and other needed components.
- Choose your foods under the guidance of a general physician and a dietician.
- Get involved in more physical activities
- Go for regular, monthly check-ups.
- Observe and make a note of blood sugar levels.
- Take insulin shots only if necessary and only if your doctor has prescribed them to you.
Special Diet for Women with Gestational Diabetes
- Eat healthy food.
- Include more fruits, veggies, and green leafy vegetables in meals.
- Make sure to add high-fibre-content foods such as fruits, veggies, and whole grains.
- Never skip any of the meal times at any cost.
- Consult a dietitian and follow a proper diet chart.
- Choose a food menu according to the diabetic levels.
- Eat in smaller and moderate quantities and eat a number of times.
How to prevent gestational diabetes?
- Stay healthy by adopting a healthy lifestyle
- Start eating healthy, organic, and natural food
- Maintain a proper diet by following an appropriate food log.
- Get monthly diabetic checkups if diabetes is already present.
- Exercise every day, such as yoga, meditation, the gym, walking, etc.
- Extra care is a must during the pregnancy period.
There are cases where women usually get gestational diabetes during pregnancy and are treated automatically and prevented after pregnancy.
So, take extra care of your pregnancy.
Control your diabetic levels! Eat healthily! Stay strong! Live long and happily, both mother and baby duo!
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Author’s Bio: Ashreetha Pendkar is a healthcare writer, trainer, and digital marketing expert. She loves to read healthcare content and spread her words about the importance of health to near & dears.
