Gestational Diabetes Symptoms.
About 3 to 6 percent of pregnancies can result in a diagnosis of gestational diabetes. Women who are affect by gestational diabetes are usually diagnosed in around the 24th week of pregnancy; however, the symptoms generally disappear after delivery.
So what are the various gestational diabetes symptoms? This is the question, but the answer is that most women do not have any gestational diabetes symptoms.
A woman may not even know she is affected by this condition, and so a medical professional who is monitoring the pregnancy will have a standard test administered. This test is called a glucose tolerance test.
Basically, the woman is given a sugary drink and then she waits at the lab for a period of one hour.
A that time, a blood sample is taken and tested to check the glucose level of the sample. A normal reading at this point would be 140 using milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood.
If the reading is above 140 milligrams of glucose per deciliter, then a further glucose tolerance test will be ordered.
This test involves a three hour glucose tolerance test. Initially, a blood sample is taken, and then a glucose solution is administered.
A sample is taken every hour for three hours. The results of these tests will be compared to normal test results and depending upon the values measured, the diagnosis of gestational diabetes will be made by the doctor.
In order to manage gestation diabetes symptoms, an expectant mother must closely regulate her diet, in order to keep her blood glucose within a normal range.
This means eating a diet of complex carbs, high fiber foods, and lean proteins. Pregnant women should not exercise strenuously; however they can benefit from short periods of walking – anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes daily.
If the gestational diabetes symptoms are not brought under control with diet and exercise, the doctor may prescribe insulin injections.
The expectant mother will be monitored often with ultrasound testing, fetal monitoring and non stress tests. During a non stress test, the mother wears a band around her stomach with a heart rate monitor on it which measures the fetal heart rate.
When gestational diabetes symptoms are not diagnosed or managed properly, there are several things that can happen to the baby, including high birth weight, jaundice, breathing issues, still birth or crib death.
It is important to catch and treat this condition early, and a good medical professional will be able to diagnose and treat it in order to manage it.
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