What happens if you gestational diabetes

Back to Health A to Z. Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar glucose that develops during pregnancy and usually disappears after giving birth. It happens when your body cannot produce enough insulin — a hormone that helps control blood sugar levels — to meet your extra needs in pregnancy. Gestational diabetes can cause problems for you and your baby during pregnancy and after birth. But the risks can be reduced if the condition is detected early and well managed.

If you're well, it's really important you go to all your appointments and scans for the health of you and your baby. If you're pregnant, hospitals and clinics are making sure it's safe for you to go to appointments.

They will advise you what to do. Any woman can develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy, but you're at an increased risk if:. If any of these apply to you, you should be offered screening for gestational diabetes during your pregnancy. Most cases are only discovered when your blood sugar levels are tested during screening for gestational diabetes.

Some women may develop symptoms if their blood sugar levels gets too high hyperglycaemia , such as:. But some of these symptoms are common during pregnancy and are not necessarily a sign of gestational diabetes. Speak to your midwife or doctor if you're worried about any symptoms you're experiencing. Having gestational diabetes also means you're at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.

During your first antenatal appointment also called a booking appointment at around week 8 to 12 of your pregnancy, your midwife or doctor will ask you some questions to determine whether you're at an increased risk of gestational diabetes. Listen to this Podcast: Gestational Diabetes. People with diabetes who take insulin or other diabetes medications can develop blood sugar that is too low. Low blood sugar can be very serious, and even fatal, if not treated quickly. Seriously low blood sugar can be avoided if women watch their blood sugar closely and treat low blood sugar early.

Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Gestational Diabetes and Pregnancy. Minus Related Pages. Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. Actions for this page Listen Print. Summary Read the full fact sheet. On this page. How does gestational diabetes develop? Who is at risk of gestational diabetes? What are the symptoms of gestational diabetes?

How is gestational diabetes diagnosed? How do you manage gestational diabetes? What happens after my baby is born? How does gestational diabetes affect any future pregnancies? How can I reduce my risk of type 2 diabetes? Where to get help. Certain women are at increased risk of developing gestational diabetes. This includes women who: are over 40 years of age have a family history of type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese are of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent are of particular cultural groups, such as Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Middle Eastern, Polynesian and Melanesian have previously had gestational diabetes take some antipsychotic or steroid medications have previously had a baby whose birth weight was greater than 4, grams 4.

Some women who develop gestational diabetes have no known risk factors. Gestational diabetes usually has no obvious symptoms. If symptoms do occur, they can include: increased thirst excessive urination tiredness thrush yeast infections. A pregnancy oral glucose tolerance test involves: fasting overnight having a blood test in the morning having a drink containing 75 grams of glucose having a blood test one hour after having the drink having a blood test two hours after having the drink.

Management of gestational diabetes involves: monitoring blood glucose levels healthy eating regular physical activity education about insulin commencement.

Some women may need insulin injections to help manage their gestational diabetes. Monitoring blood glucose levels Monitoring your blood glucose levels is essential. Healthy eating Make sure you are eating a nutritious diet that helps you maintain a healthy weight. Tips include: Choose varied and enjoyable food, including foods rich in calcium milk and cheese , iron red meat, chicken and fish and folic acid dark green leafy vegetables. Include some carbohydrates at each meal such as grains, cereals, fruits, pasta and rice.

Reduce your saturated fat intake by limiting the amount of processed and takeaway foods that you eat. Avoid foods and drinks containing a lot of added sugar. Discuss with a dietitian how much carbohydrate you should eat and the best way to spread it out throughout the day to help control your blood glucose levels. Regular physical activity Regular physical activity, such as walking, helps to keep you fit, prepares you for the birth of your baby and will help to control your blood glucose levels.

Check with your doctor before starting a new or particularly strenuous exercise regimen. Education about insulin commencement It is very important that you get information and support from your diabetes educator or doctor on how insulin works, how to give insulin and how to store it.

Insulin injections You may need insulin injections to help keep your blood glucose level in the normal range. The following steps can reduce your risk: maintain a healthy eating plan maintain a healthy weight for your height do regular physical activity have regular follow-up blood tests OGTT, fasting blood glucose or HbA1c every one to three years to check your blood glucose levels, especially if you may have further pregnancies.

Where to get help Your GP doctor Obstetrician Diabetes specialist or endocrinologist Diabetes nurse educator — ask at the hospital where you are booked to have your baby or, alternatively, you may see a diabetes educator privately Diabetes Victoria Tel. Managing gestational diabetes , Diabetes Australia. Gestational diabetes , the Royal Women's Hospital.

General practice management of type 2 diabetes — 18 , Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Give feedback about this page.