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Gestational Diabetes - Summarizing what it is, its causes, symptoms, and complications

Gestational Diabetes affects both mother and baby's health. Know what causes Diabetes during pregnancy, its symptoms, and complications that make it a health risk that cannot be ignored. Pregnant women should get themselves tested during or before the 24th week of pregnancy, irrespective of any symptoms. Uncontrolled Diabetes in pregnant women can gravely affect the future of both – mother & child. Early diagnosis is the best measure to stop Gestational Diabetes from getting out of hand. Here’s all the information you need on the causes, symptoms, and complications related to Gestational Diabetes.

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Gestational Diabetes - Summarizing what it is, its causes, symptoms, and complications

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  1. Gestational Diabetes – A Summary of what it is, the adjoining causes, symptoms, and complications

  2. What is Gestational Diabetes? Gestational diabetes is characterized by high blood sugar levels first recognized during pregnancy in otherwise nondiabetic women. Normally the disease appears around 24th week of pregnancy. Since the disease doesn’t show any significant symptoms, it remains undiagnosed in a large percentage of women in India - thus adding to a huge load of diabetics every year.

  3. What causes Gestational Diabetes? GD represents chronic β cell dysfunction of pancreas (gland that secretes insulin which metabolizes sugar in our blood). Almost all pregnant women exhibit some degree of impaired glucose metabolism under the influence of placental hormones, but extra insulin is secreted in response, to maintain the sugar balance. However, in some pregnancies insulin action is blocked, or cells develop resistance to process sugars into energy, thus raising sugar levels in blood.

  4. Complications of Gestational Diabetes Diabetes can affect the developing fetus throughout the pregnancy. In early pregnancy, mother’s diabetes can cause birth defects (skeletal, brain, heart) and miscarriages. During the second and third trimester, as the blood with high sugar levels enters the foetal circulation, the foetal pancreas secrete extra insulin to process the excessive glucose and store it as fat. Thus, making large for date ½ babies or Macrosomia, a grave complication of GD. Having a large baby increases risks during birthing for both mother and also the child.

  5. Risks associated with Gestational Diabetes • Large babies often require C-section delivery, and if delivered vaginally, there is increased risk of injury to perineum and excessive bleeding • Damage to the shoulders of baby during birth • Low sugar levels (hypoglycemia) at birth due to extra insulin produced by baby’s pancreas - which can be fatal if delivery is not well attended at hospital • Higher risk of breathing problems at birth, and its associated complications • High risk of obesity as these babies grow • Very high risk for type-2 diabetes as adults.

  6. Find out more about Gestational Diabetes – risk factors, screening tests, appropriate diet measures, and treatment methods at Healnt. To read more articles related to your child’s health, take a look the Healnt blog. Take complete control of your health with the Healnt App. Monitor the health of your loved ones, keep track of your baby’s growth, immunization schedule, medicine intakes, and more.

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