Gestational diabetes
Introduction:
Gestational diabetes mellitus means
that blood sugar levels change that have been identified in the first trimester
of pregnancy, although some of the conditions will remain even after getting
birth.
The pathophysiology of gestational diabetes
causes the placenta to create a hormone that prevents using insulin effectively
by the body, this cause to build of glucose level in the bloodstream and has not
been utilized in the cells. This can cause an increase the blood sugar and is called
gestational diabetes because it accrues during pregnancy. When the baby is born,
in some cases the blood glucose level return to normal, but there were some
people remain their blood glucose level to be high which causes them to have
type 2 diabetes.
What causes gestational diabetes mellitus?
From many research studies, it’s
unclear the cause of gestational diabetes but there were some facts that the
placenta is used to feed and water the fetus, also creating hormones to keep
the pregnancy going. The hormones that can block insulin from working
effectively are estrogen, cortisol, and human placental lactogen, which usually
begins about 20 to 24 weeks into the pregnancy.
As the placenta develops more
hormones this can cause the risk of insulin resistance and an increase in blood
sugar. The pancreas is the main organ that builds insulin that can normally
create more insulin to overcome insulin resistance, but when the amount of
insulin produced is insufficient it make an imbalance in the body because of
the effects of placental hormones. So this type of disease occurs during
the pregnancy period and can be dangerous to the baby and the mother at the
same time if it’s not controlled or not treated.
What are the risk factors for gestational diabetes?
Many factors can made the women at
risk of gestational diabetes that including:
o Adulthood that the mother may get
pregnant at an older age. (who are older than 25)
o family history of diabetes
mellitus type 2 or type 1.
o the women who are overweight or
obesity that can cause more risk to get diabetes
o multi pregnancies that she suffers
from diabetes in any pregnancies.
What are the
complications of gestational diabetes?
The mother can have many
complications if she got diabetes that was:
O the mother can get a big baby
during birth whose weight is high.
O After getting birth the newborn
can suffer from low blood sugar directly after birth, which causes him to have
the risk of complications.
O Mother can get complications after
birth because of high blood sugar and can be delivered by cesarean section than
normal delivery if the situation becomes complicated.
What is the treatment for gestational diabetes mellitus?
The treatment of gestational
diabetes varies according to the mother’s situation, age, or any other
associated factors that were:
o One of the therapy options is
dietary modification and lifestyle modification.
o performing some exercises that can
lower the blood glucose level.
o If the other modified treatment
been failed so insulin injection will be started.
Follow these guidelines when doing the treatment:
o The blood glucose levels must be managed
and monitored at home by frequently checking the blood glucose level.
o the regular check up from the
hospital or the clinic must be complained to follow up with the doctor and
identify the fetus’s situation and mother’s health status.
o The pregnant mother will be referred to nutritionists
to make sure that the mother is following a healthy diet and that her lifestyle
has been modified.
o Daily exercise has been advised to
maintain blood glucose levels but with observation and guidance from the health
care providers to prevent any complications.
o When visiting the doctor for a checkup
the mother will be checked her ketone levels in the urine daily or each visit
according to the mother’s situation to make sure no ketones are present that
can cause many further complications to the mother and fetus.
o The doctor may instruct the mother
to not use any other drugs that can cause many complications or can increase
blood sugar levels.
Conclusion:
At the end, gestational diabetes
must be controlled and managed before many complications that may affect the
mother and the fetus. This complication that has been discussed can affect the
mother and the fetus even the newborn baby, this causes the risk to have low
blood sugar for the baby, and the mother can get birth normally. This can cause
stress for the mother during pregnancy and the most important thing is the
support system from the husband and the family member that can reduce her
stress and anxiety.
References:
Ministry of Health, (n.d) Gestational Diabetes, Clinical Health
Education Department, Saudia Arabia. Retrieved from:
https://www.moh.gov.sa/en/awarenessplateform/WomensHealth/Documents/Gestational%20Diabetes.pdf
Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). (n.d). Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Retrieved March 3, 2022, from:
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/diabetes/gestational-diabetes