What is Gestational Diabetes?
What is gestational diabetes ? It’s usually a non-permanent variety of diabetes, whereby one’s body fails to generate enough insulin to manage sugar levels while pregnant. All pregnant women get screened for gestational diabetes at some stage in the course of the pregnancy. Pregnant women older than 35, or overweight, or those who may have a history of diabetes within their family, may very well be screened more often. What is gestational diabetes likelihood? Anywhere between 2% to 5% of all pregnant women will acquire this type of diabetes. This percentage jumps to 7% to 9% when mothers have some high risk factors. Diagnostic testing for this particular condition usually occurs between weeks 24 and 28 of a pregnancy. Testing is performed at this time mainly because the placenta is now creating considerable amounts of hormones which could result in insulin resistance. In the event the results show elevated levels of blood sugar, additional testing will be needed in order to confirm dia...