Define gestational diabetes and list risk factors. How is it managed?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An estimated 2 to 10 percent of pregnancies in the United States are complicated by a condition known as gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes usually develops during the second half of pregnancy, with subsequent return to normal after childbirth. Some women with gestational diabetes, however, develop diabetes (usually type 2) after pregnancy, especially if they are overweight. For this reason, health-care professionals strongly advise against excessive weight gain during—and after—pregnancy. Weight gains after pregnancy increase the risk of gestational diabetes in the next pregnancy.

The most common consequences of gestational diabetes are complications during labor and delivery and a high infant birthweight. Birth defects associated with gestational diabetes include heart damage, limb deformities, and neural tube defects. To ensure that the problems of gestational diabetes are dealt with promptly, physicians screen for risk factors and test high-risk women for glucose intolerance immediately and average-risk women between 24 and 28 weeks gestation.

Dietary recommendations should meet the needs of pregnancy and control maternal blood glucose. Diet and moderate exercise may control gestational diabetes, but if blood glucose fails to normalize, insulin or other drugs may be required. Importantly, treatment reduces preeclampsia, birth complications, large newborns, and infant deaths.