High Risk Pregnancy

I have officially been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and am therefore classified as a high risk pregnancy. My pregnancy has been sooo easy up until this point, it just had to be too good to be true. To say I'm upset is an understatement...after a few tears I'm ready to tackle the issue and deal with it head on. I was informed I must see a Nutritionist within 24 hours, however they couldn't fit me in after work and so I'll wait until Tuesday to see the center. Here is a bit of info on what I have.

Diabetes is a condition where sufficient amounts of insulin are either not produced or the body is unable to use the insulin that is produced. Insulin is the hormone that allows glucose to enter the cells of the body to provide fuel. When glucose cannot enter the cells, it builds up in the blood and the body's cells literally starve to death.

Diabetes in pregnancy can have serious consequences for the mother and the growing fetus. The severity of problems often depends on the degree of the mother's diabetic disease, especially if she has vascular (blood vessel) complications and poor blood glucose control. Diabetes that occurs in pregnancy is described as:

Gestational diabetes - when a mother who does not have diabetes develops a resistance to insulin because of the hormones of pregnancy. Women with gestational diabetes may be non-insulin dependent or insulin dependent.
Pre-existing diabetes - women who already have diabetes and become pregnant.
What is gestational diabetes?
Gestational diabetes is a condition in which the glucose level is elevated and other diabetic symptoms appear during pregnancy in a woman who has not previously been diagnosed with diabetes. In most cases, all diabetic symptoms disappear following delivery. However, women with gestational diabetes have an increased risk of developing diabetes later in life, especially if they were overweight before the pregnancy.

Unlike other types of diabetes, gestational diabetes is not caused by a lack of insulin, but by blocking effects of other hormones on the insulin that is produced, a condition referred to as insulin resistance.
What causes gestational diabetes?
Although the cause of gestational diabetes is not known, there are some theories as to why the condition occurs.

The placenta supplies a growing fetus with nutrients and water, as well as produces a variety of hormones to maintain the pregnancy. Some of these hormones (estrogen, cortisol, and human placental lactogen) can have a blocking effect on insulin, which usually begins about 20 to 24 weeks into the pregnancy.

As the placenta grows, more of these hormones are produced, and insulin resistance becomes greater. Normally, the pancreas is able to make additional insulin to overcome insulin resistance, but when the production of insulin is not enough to overcome the effect of the placental hormones, gestational diabetes results.

Treatment for gestational diabetes focuses on keeping blood glucose levels in the normal range. Treatment may include:

special diet
exercise
daily blood glucose monitoring
insulin injections

Possible complications for the baby:
Infants of mothers with gestational diabetes are vulnerable to several chemical imbalances, such as low serum calcium and low serum magnesium levels, but, in general, the major problems of gestational diabetes include:

Macrosomia - refers to a baby that is considerably larger than normal. All of the nutrients the fetus receives come directly from the mother's blood. If the maternal blood has too much glucose, the pancreas of the fetus senses the high glucose levels and produces more insulin in an attempt to use this glucose. The fetus converts the extra glucose to fat. Even when the mother has gestational diabetes, the fetus is able to produce all the insulin it needs. The combination of high blood glucose levels from the mother and high insulin levels in the fetus results in large deposits of fat which causes the fetus to grow excessively large.

Birth injury - may occur due to the baby's large size and difficulty being born.

Hypoglycemia - refers to low blood sugar in the baby immediately after delivery. This problem occurs if the mother's blood sugar levels have been consistently high, causing the fetus to have a high level of insulin in its circulation. After delivery, the baby continues to have a high insulin level, but it no longer has the high level of sugar from its mother, resulting in the newborn's blood sugar level becoming very low. The baby's blood sugar level is checked after birth, and if the level is too low, it may be necessary to give the baby glucose intravenously.

Respiratory distress (difficulty breathing) - too much insulin or too much glucose in a baby's system may delay lung maturation and cause respiratory difficulties in babies. This is more likely if they are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy.