Gestational diabetes symptoms are almost never obvious

This is an automatically translated article.

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Thi Man - Doctor of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital
Gestational diabetes almost always has no obvious symptoms, so pregnant women often do not know they have the disease. Monitoring and screening for early detection and timely treatment of gestational diabetes is very important.

1. What is gestational diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is a state of glucose intolerance of any degree in women during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that only appears and exists during pregnancy and ends when the woman has given birth to a baby. If a pregnant woman still has gestational diabetes 6 weeks after giving birth and still has not recovered, then the disease is not diagnosed as gestational diabetes anymore, but changes to type 1, type 2, nutritional or symptomatic diabetes. proof.

2. Who is at risk for gestational diabetes?

Any woman who is pregnant is at risk for gestational diabetes. Those most at risk include:
People who have had diabetes. People who have had gestational diabetes in one or more previous pregnancies. Overweight and obese people. People who have had a miscarriage or pre-eclampsia. Pregnant women in old age. People with high blood pressure. People with close relatives (father, mother, brother, sister) who have had to take supplemental insulin injections.

3. Diagnosis of gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes does not have obvious symptoms, so without a blood test or a gestational diabetes test, a glucose tolerance test, it is very difficult to detect the disease. Therefore, all pregnant women should have a screening test for gestational diabetes.
Previously, the diagnosis of gestational diabetes was based solely on the results of a urine test. However, depending on this result alone will not be accurate because of the fact that there are still many cases of people without gestational diabetes but still detect sugar in the urine. In addition, people with gestational diabetes are also sometimes negative and positive for the urinary tract.
Pregnant women will have to fast for at least 8 hours before the test. Usually, this test will be done in the morning and pregnant women are advised to fast for breakfast. The nurse will take a blood sample from the pregnant woman, called the first blood sample, to measure the fasting blood sugar level. After that, the pregnant woman will be given a glass of sugar water with a predetermined amount of sugar. When the sugar is absorbed into the blood, the pregnant woman will have a second blood draw (after 1 hour), a third time (after 2 hours) for evaluation.

4. What to do when you have gestational diabetes?

Just like diabetes in non-pregnant people, people with gestational diabetes need to follow certain dietary restrictions. Depending on the mother's energy needs, pre-pregnancy weight, current weight, baby's gestational week... to determine the essential needs of pregnant women.
In addition, pregnant women need to have a suitable exercise regimen. If during exercise, pregnant women feel tired, they need to stop exercising and rest. The form of exercise and the duration of exercise should be consulted by a doctor. Should exercise at a moderate level, gently, avoid affecting the fetus. Pregnant women need to keep their heart rate below 140 beats/minute during exercise. Do not let your heart beat for a long time. You can walk or swim to improve health, reduce pressure on the joints, and do not cause injury to the joints in the feet and legs.
If you apply diet and exercise and still cannot control your blood sugar, you must take insulin according to a certain dose prescribed by your doctor. In addition, pregnant women should be closely monitored during treatment to avoid hypoglycemia or other dangerous complications.

5. Meaning of gestational diabetes test

It can be affirmed that gestational diabetes testing is very important because if not detected and controlled early, gestational diabetes can lead to extremely serious effects on both mother and baby, not only effects during pregnancy and childbirth but also later in life.
Gestational diabetes causes the fetus to grow too large, leading to difficulty giving birth, increasing the risk of difficult birth and dangerous complications during childbirth. In addition, gestational diabetes also increases the risk of birth defects, premature birth, miscarriage. If the fetus is born prematurely, it will be very susceptible to respiratory diseases, respiratory distress syndrome in newborns.
Gestational diabetes can also threaten the mother's health with the risk of high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, increased blood ketone levels of both mother and fetus - adversely affecting the normal development process. of the fetus.
Therefore, pregnant women should not be subjective, need to check, screen and detect diseases early in childbirth with timely intervention.
Maternity package program at Vinmec International General Hospital helps customers complete the antenatal check-ups and necessary tests during pregnancy, including screening tests for gestational diabetes. Customers registered for Maternity Package are fully cared for and checked for health of mother and baby before birth - during childbirth and after birth.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.