Gestational Diabetes Care

Gestational diabetes occurs when you get hyperglycemia, or unhealthy blood sugar levels, during pregnancy due to changes in hormone levels. These changes result in imbalances that interfere with how your cells work with insulin to remove glucose (a form of sugar) from your bloodstream. The key to having a healthy pregnancy and child is preventing hyperglycemia (high blood sugar).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gestational diabetes occurs in roughly two to 10 percent of pregnancies in the United States every year. You are at greater risk if you:

• Were diagnosed with gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy
• Have given birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds
• Have prediabetes
• Are overweight
• Are more than 25 years old
• Have a family history of Type 2 diabetes
• Are African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

Symptoms you may experience include increased hunger and thirst, frequent urination, nausea and fatigue beyond what you typically experience with pregnancy.

However, many women don't notice any signs of gestational diabetes. That's why it’s so important to get regular checkups during pregnancy. At Novant Health, primary care providers generally test for high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, in your second trimester of your pregnancy. If your gestational diabetes test comes back positive, your provider may recommend changes to your diet and exercise. If those don’t bring your blood sugar under control, they may prescribe insulin.

With other types of diabetes, your pancreas can't produce enough of the hormone (insulin) your body needs to convert the sugar in your blood (glucose) into energy it needs to make and repair cells and carry out other functions. If you're a mother with gestational diabetes, you may be able to produce enough insulin, but other hormones prevent your cells from using it. Your body becomes “insulin resistant” and you become hyperglycemic, which is to say your glucose levels surpass healthy levels.

In most cases, pregnant women can manage hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, through diet, exercise and medications without any adverse effects. It often goes away after pregnancy.