How Does Gestational Diabetes Affect Your Baby? Experts Weigh In

Ashley Batz/Romper
Gestational diabetes [GD] is a very common worry among pregnant ladies. Especially because in addition to all the other stuff you put up with while you're pregnant, who wants to give themselves insulin injections or prick their finger several times a day to check their glucose levels? According to the American Pregnancy Association (APA), 2 to 5 percent of women develop GD. And if you have certain risk factors, that number rises to 7 to 9 percent. But in addition to how gestational diabetes affects you, how does gestational diabetes affect your baby?
What is gestational diabetes exactly, and how do you get it? The APA noted that, much like having diabetes when you’re not pregnant, it’s a condition where your body doesn’t produce enough insulin while you’re pregnant, which affects how your body regulates sugar. "It may also be called glucose intolerance or carbohydrate intolerance," the website added.
Thankfully, only 5 percent of women develop diabetes during their pregnancy, says Dr. Kurt Martinuzzi, OB-GYN at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, in an email to Romper.
So how do some women end up with gestational diabetes and others do not?
According to Martinuzzi, unfortunately, women who have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), or are Hispanic, African American, Native American, or Pacific Islander have an increased risk of getting gestational diabetes. He also notes that some women's bodies naturally produce too much blood sugar in their bloodstreams through no fault of their own, because the placenta is producing large amounts of hormones th Continue reading

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9 Unusual Signs of Type 2 Diabetes

The presence of diabetes mellitus is marked with increased thirst, frequent urination and weight loss. But diabetes may not always occur with these typical symptoms. Most people with diabetes mellitus know about it only when their blood sugar levels are alarmingly high. But if you know the early symptoms of diabetes, you can seek early medical help. Diabetes treatment can work best if started early. So, identify the unusual type 2 diabetes symptoms and protect your health.
Here are 9 unusual signs of type 2 diabetes
Skin ChangesNot much is discussed about this symptom. But it is possible that early symptoms of diabetes can include skin colour changes. If you note changes in your skin colour on your neck, it’s time to be alert. Dark discolouration at the back of your neck can indicate insulin resistance, which ultimately results in diabetes mellitus. Since, such skin discolouration may also be due to other illnesses or due to some medications, it is worth paying attention to it.
Strange sensations in the limbs
Diabetes affects your nerves and can damage them much before you are aware of your diabetes status. Damaged nerves are often present with burning, tingling or numb sensations in the hands or feet. This is common in nerve compression in cervical and lumbar disc problems or other neurological disorders. But as it can also mean diabetes mellitus, hence, it is best to not ignore these sensations.
Hearing problems
This is an unusual type 2 diabetes symptoms, which often gets ignored. While hearing problems are common in aging people or after injuries and infections, it ca Continue reading

Timing of Delivery in Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Need for Person-Centered, Shared Decision-Making

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Abstract
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a medical as well as obstetric challenge, which needs person-centered management. The timing of delivery of women with GDM is discussed by various obstetric professional bodies. We highlight pertinent medical, obstetric, and psychosocial factors which may influence the timing of delivery in women with GDM. This commentary proposes a person-centered approach to decide the delivery timing in GDM and supports shared decision-making based upon the individual’s biopsychosocial characteristics and environmental factors.
Keywords: Antenatal corticosteroid therapy, Cephalopelvic disproportion, Diabetes, Fetomaternal distress, Labor, Macrosomia
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Introduction
The prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is rapidly increasing across the world and it is a common endocrine complication in obstetric practice today [1–3]. GDM, as a syndrome, is marked by controversy related to virtually every facet, ranging from its nomenclature, screening tools, and diagnosis to management strategies [4, 5]. Most debate on GDM management centers on medical issues, such as appropriateness of oral hypoglycemic agents. In this communication, we discuss the timing of delivery in GDM and emphasize the need for person-centered, shared decision-making in this regard.
Compliance with Ethics Guidelines
This article does not contain any new studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.
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Current Recommendations
Expert recommendations suggest that women with uncomplicated GDM take their pregnancies to term, and d Continue reading

Gestational Diabetes: Causes, Signs, Symptoms & Prevention

Gestational Diabetes (GSD) typically affects women during pregnancy. Due to the many lifestyle issues we are facing, women are more prone to Gestational Diabetes now. Gestational Diabetes can often lead to type 2 diabetes in later stages of life for women. However, it is not necessary that one may become diabetic permanently. Once the baby is born, one may not have diabetes at all.
Even though Gestational Diabetes is not a permanent state, it is important to remember to stick to a healthy diet and regime as your baby might end up getting affected. Gestational Diabetes does not mean that you will have an unhealthy baby, however, it is necessary to keep your sugar levels in check. Similar to other types of diabetes, Gestational Diabetes affects how well your cells use sugar or glucose in your body.
GSD can cause a spike in your blood sugar levels and hence can affect your and your baby's health. GSD occurs when your body cannot produce enough insulin to support you and your baby. Since during pregnancy the needs of your body increase, GSD is a common phenomenon which often subsides with a healthy regime after delivery.
If you do not take proper care during pregnancy, for example, eating outside foods and not exercising, GSD can lead to type 2 diabetes, a permanent state of your body insulin levels dropping frequently.Some studies suggest that if you had GSD in your first pregnancy, you are more likely to get it in your second pregnancy as well. Asian and middle-eastern women are most prone to this type of diabetes. However, if you lead a healthy lifestyle with proper diet and Continue reading

How To Detox The 4 Worst Diabetes-causing Chemicals Today

We used to think diabetes was caused by body fat, sugar, and inactivity. You might be surprised how large of a role environmental toxicants play. Get started on reversing type 2 diabetes, or reversing prediabetes, with this incredibly helpful cleanse for diabetics today.
For years, it seemed that many had assumed that diabetes was simply caused by obesity and inactivity. Recent data, though, has shown that environmental toxicants may play a larger role than just about any other controllable factor when it comes to causing diabetes.
My patients are often shocked to learn that obesity is merely a risk factor when it comes to diabetes, especially when a person has a high burden of environmental toxicants.
Body fat has often been regarded as a large risk factor for diabetes, even independent of body weight. New evidence is even showing that fat itself is less of a danger, rather the toxins that are commonly stored within fat are what is causing damage to our bodies.
A recent study I read talked about the positioning of children in areas of high-pollution, and that they were chemically predisposed to contracting diabetes due to the air around them (1). This is shocking stuff, because it takes what we thought of as the cause of diabetes and basically turns it on its head. It’s no longer simply about what’s going on in our bodies, but the factors outside our bodies as well.
Diabetes is just about one of the most common diseases there is in the United States and the numbers are only growing. A recent study, from 2015, suggested that over half of Americans have either diabetes o Continue reading