Gestational Diabetes: When carefully controlled, this disorder poses little risk to you and your baby.

What it is: Gestational diabetes — a form of diabetes that appears only during pregnancy — occurs when the body does not produce adequate amounts of insulin (the hormone that lets the body turn blood sugar into energy) to deal with the increased blood sugar of pregnancy. Gestational diabetes usually begins between weeks 24 and 28 of pregnancy (which explains why you'll have a glucose screening test at around 28 weeks).

How common is it? Gestational diabetes is fairly common, affecting four to seven percent of expectant women.

Who is most at risk? Older moms-to-be are more at risk of developing gestational diabetes, as are obese women. Women who have a history of diabetes or those who had gestational diabetes during a previous pregnancy are also at greater risk.

What are the symptoms? Most women with gestational diabetes have no symptoms, though a few may experience extreme thirst, very frequent and very copious urination, or fatigue. You'll also have sugar in the urine (detected at a routine practitioner visit). Your practitioner will probably screen you for gestational diabetes around week 28 of pregnancy. You'll drink a sugary liquid and then take a blood test an hour later. If your blood sugar level is high, you'll take a three-hour glucose tolerance test to determine whether you have gestational diabetes.

Should you be concerned? There's little reason for concern if your gestational diabetes is well controlled. Your pregnancy will progress normally and your baby will suffer no ill effects. But if gestational diabetes is left untreated, your baby will receive too much blood sugar and grow too large, making delivery more difficult for you. It could also lead to potential problems for your baby after birth, such as jaundice, breathing difficulties, and low blood sugar levels. Later in life your child will be at an increased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes. And though gestational diabetes goes away after delivery, you are also at an increased risk of developing diabetes later in life if you've had gestational diabetes.

What you can do: Keeping an eye on your weight gain (both before and during pregnancy) can help prevent gestational diabetes. So too can good diet habits and regular exercise. If you're diagnosed with gestational diabetes, scrupulous control of blood sugar levels will mitigate the potential risks associated with the condition. Your practitioner will likely put you on a special diet (similar to the Pregnancy Diet) and will suggest simple exercises to keep your gestational diabetes under control.

Source: www.whattoexpect.com