Gestational Diabetes: Symptoms, Risks, and Diet to Follow
Gestational diabetes is a pregnancy-related disease, not to be confused with type I diabetes. It is also called gestational diabetes mellitus, and is caused by an "alteration in glucose metabolism. It generally develops during the second trimester, pregnant." What symptoms does it present, and what risks does it entail? Find out how to treat it and what to eat to keep it under control.
Gestational diabetes: symptoms
Symptoms of gestational diabetes seem almost absent. However, it is necessary to pay attention to certain aspects such as the general increase in thirst, the increase in the amount of urine, some weight loss despite the increased sensation of appetite. Other more important symptoms are also cystitis, candidiasis and visual disturbances. .
See also
Glucose in the urine in pregnancy and gestational diabetes: what there is to know
The values to keep under control
To check the values that indicate any gestational diabetes, systematic glycemic control with daily self-monitoring is important. If fasting glycaemia is> 126 mg / dl, it is referred to as manifest diabetes in pregnancy, i.e. diabetes already present before pregnancy. All women must be subjected to a 75g glucose load curve between the 24th and 26th week of pregnancy, and even a single abnormal value in the curve is sufficient to make the diagnosis of gestational diabetes.
Pregnancy and health: what to do and what not to do
In this video, Dr. Canevisio describes the guidelines to follow for a peaceful pregnancy in different cases: what to do in case of gestational diabetes? What dietary and lifestyle habits should you follow? Find out everything you can do, or should avoid, to have a healthy and peaceful pregnancy.
The main causes of gestational diabetes
The main cause of gestational diabetes is the production of hormones that hinder the production of insulin by the pancreas. Insulin is used to synthesize glucose, which in such a dysfunction tends to accumulate, causing diabetes. Often, if not always, gestational diabetes disappears when its causes disappear, with the mother returning to hormonal normality. however, keep blood glucose values under control even after childbirth.
The Risks of Gestational Diabetes
Before talking about the risks that gestational diabetes entails, it is also good to keep in mind the risk factors of contracting it. Women under the age of 25, or who belong to families with no obstetricians, are at low risk. Women with relatives who have or had type 2 diabetes, who have already had pregnancies with gestational diabetes, and obese women are more at risk. The risks, if left untreated, are:
- children who overgrow, making childbirth difficult
- obesity and hypertension in the newborn
- development of type 2 diabetes in women
- high probability that the child as an adult will become diabetic
Gestational Diabetes: Diet and Movement to Treat
The first treatment is that of food, with a diet capable of controlling blood sugar and providing the calories and substances necessary to support the mother and make the fetus grow adequately.If the diet is not sufficient, insulin-based treatment is prescribed. Diet during pregnancy, already crucial in itself, in this case must be well calibrated, and involves the consumption above all of:
- vegetables and legumes, which provide the necessary plant fibers
- whole-grain carbohydrates (bread and pasta)
- brown rice
- fruit
- yogurt
- a lot of water
The foods to be avoided absolutely are alcoholic drinks (but this applies to all pregnant women), sugary drinks, foods containing too much sugar.
To overcome diabetes, an excellent solution is to play sports and walk a lot. Valid help can come from pre-birth water gymnastics.
