Gestational Diabetes

What is gestational diabetes?

If your blood sugar level first becomes too high when you are pregnant, you have gestational Reference diabetes Opens New Window. It usually goes back to normal after the baby is born.

High blood sugar can cause problems for you and your baby. Your baby may grow too large, which can cause problems during delivery. Your baby may also be born with low blood sugar. But with treatment, most women who have gestational diabetes are able to control their blood sugar and give birth to healthy babies.

Women who have had gestational diabetes are more likely than other women to develop Reference type 2 diabetes Opens New Window later on. You may be able to prevent or reduce the severity of type 2 diabetes by staying at a healthy weight, eating healthy foods, and increasing your physical activity.

What causes gestational diabetes?

The Reference pancreas Opens New Window Reference Opens New Window makes a hormone called Reference insulin Opens New Window. Insulin helps your body properly use and store the sugar from the food you eat. This keeps your blood sugar level in a Reference target range. When you are pregnant, the Reference placenta Opens New Window makes hormones that can make it harder for insulin to work. This is called Reference insulin resistance.

A pregnant woman can get diabetes when her pancreas cannot make enough insulin to keep her blood sugar levels within a target range.

What are the symptoms?

Because gestational diabetes may not cause symptoms, you need to be tested for the condition. You may be surprised if your test shows a high blood sugar level. It is important for you to be tested for gestational diabetes, because high blood sugar can cause problems for both you and your baby.

Sometimes a pregnant woman who has symptoms has been living with another type of diabetes without knowing it. If you have symptoms from another type of diabetes, they may include:

• Increased thirst.
• Increased urination.
• Increased hunger.
• Blurred vision.

Pregnancy causes most women to urinate more often and to feel more hungry. So having these symptoms doesn't always mean that a woman has diabetes. Talk with your doctor if you have these symptoms, so that you can be tested for diabetes at any time during pregnancy.

How is gestational diabetes diagnosed?

The American Diabetes Association recommends that all women who are not already diagnosed with diabetes be tested for gestational diabetes between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy using the Reference oral glucose tolerance test Opens New Window.^{Reference 1}

How is it treated?

Some women with gestational diabetes can control their blood sugar level by changing the way they eat and by exercising regularly. These healthy choices can also help prevent gestational diabetes in future pregnancies and type 2 diabetes later in life.

Treatment for gestational diabetes also includes checking your blood sugar level at home and seeing your doctor regularly.

You may need to give yourself insulin shots to help control your blood sugar. This insulin adds to the insulin that your body makes.

There are pills called glyburide and metformin used for type 2 diabetes that some doctors are using to treat women who have gestational diabetes.

© 1995-2011, Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.

This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Reference Terms of Use. Reference How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.