Dr Zenonas Xydas
​MD, MBChB (Bristol), MRCP (London, UK), MRCEndo (London, UK), CCT (UK)
Gestational diabetes
Summary
Viral Thyroiditis (known as De Quervain's Thyroiditis) is a DESTRUCTIVE disease of the thyroid due to a virus. The main symptom are pain of the neck, with the majority of patients experiencing a short period (6 weeks) of hyperthyroidism, followed by either normalisation of thyroid function (70% of cases) or permanent hypothyroidism (30% of cases)
What is Gestational Diabetes
The diabetes that occurs during pregnancy is called gestational diabetes. During pregnancy, the body requires more insulin (a hormone that controls the blood glucose) in order to meet the extra needs in pregnancy.
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Women with Gestational Diabetes cannot produce this extra insulin that is needed, and as a result there is risk of high blood glucose when foods rich in carbohydrates are eaten.
How common is it
Gestational diabetes is very common and it usually affects 1 in 5 pregnant women.
It is more common in a certain group of women
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Women who are overweight (Body Mass Index of 30 or higher)
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Women who gave birth to a large baby (weighing over 4.5kg)
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Women with previous gestational diabetes
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Family history of gestational diabetes
What does it mean for my baby
Most women with gestational diabetes have healthy pregnancy and a completely healthy baby. Very rarely, diabetes can cause problems to the baby, especially in cases where the glucose is not controlled during pregnancy or diabetes goes unnoticed.
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If the blood glucose is persistently above the levels indicated by the diabetologist/obstetrician then the baby will produce more insulin which can make it grow bigger and increase the risk of complications in pregnancy.
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Poor control of diabetes in pregnancy will also increase the risk of the baby developing obesity or diabetes later in life. If the glucose is controlled adequately, the baby’s insulin levels return to normal and the complication risks return to those of a woman without diabetes.
What extra care do I need during my pregnancy
The most important treatment for gestational diabetes is a healthy eating planand exercise. Gestational diabetes usually improves with these changes and no further treatment will be needed.
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After you have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, you will be shown how to check your blood glucose levels and told what your ideal level should be. At the beginning, you will be asked to check your glucose before and after each meal, and provided that the monitoring is adequate, the frequency of glucose monitoring will be reduced.
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