Screening for gestational diabetes is a test every pregnant woman needs to perform. Pregnant women should know the time and procedure of performing the test to perform fully. Diabetes can be safely controlled if you actively detect the disease early.
What is gestational diabetes?
Gestational diabetes is a disorder that first emerged or noted during pregnancy. It can happen at any stage of pregnancy. However, pregnant women in the second or third trimester are more likely to get the disease.
It occurs because your body cannot produce enough insulin - a hormone that helps control blood sugar levels - to meet your needs during pregnancy.
Gestational diabetes can cause problems for you and your baby during pregnancy and after birth. But the risks can be minimized if you catch the disease early and treat it well.
The process of screening for gestational diabetes
Time of implementation
Screening for gestational diabetes is done at 3 times:
Rank the risk at the first antenatal visit
If pregnant women have no risk factors but have abnormal fasting blood sugar, it is necessary to screen for gestational diabetes at 24-28 weeks of gestation.
If there are risk factors, pregnant women should be screened for diabetes in the first 3 months of pregnancy. Can be rechecked at 24-28 weeks if not detected before.
Screening
During your first prenatal appointment, around 8 to 12 weeks of pregnancy, the nurse or doctor will ask a few questions to determine if you are at risk for gestational diabetes. Here are 6 high risk factors for pregnant women to develop gestational diabetes:
Family with someone with diabetes
In previous pregnancy, pregnant women had gestational diabetes
Previously, pregnant women gave birth to a baby weighing over 4kg
Pregnancy before stillbirth (especially in the last 3 months)
Birth defects
Have had more than 3 consecutive miscarriages
Oral glucose tolerance test to screen for gestational diabetes (OGTT)
If you have more than 1 risk factor for gestational diabetes, you will be offered a screening test with the OGTT test. This test takes about 2 hours.
You will have a blood test in the morning, after 8 to 10 hours after not eating or drinking. For the 3 days before the test, you eat a normal carbohydrate diet. The test consists of 3 steps:
Fasting blood glucose measurement
Pregnant women drink 200ml of water mixed with 75g glucoso. Drink for 3 to 5 minutes. During the test, do not smoke, eat or drink soft drinks at all
Measure blood glucoso after 1 and 2 hours
Normal blood glucose results
An index of glucoso in the blood as follows is considered normal:
Fasting: Index below 92 mg / dl (5 / 1mmol / L)
After 1 hour: Below 180 mg / dl (10mmol / L)
After 2 hours: Less than 153mg / dl (8.5 mmol / L)
From this index, the doctor can come to 2 conclusions:
If there are two results equal to or greater than the upper limit, pregnant women will have gestational diabetes. For example, the fasting glycemic index is 92 mg / dl and after 2 hours is 153 mg / dl, the pregnant woman has gestational diabetes.
If there is a result equal to or greater than the upper limit, the pregnant woman may suffer from sugar tolerance disorder during pregnancy. For example, one glycemic index after 2 hours is 153ml / dl, the other 2 are normal, pregnant women suffer from sugar tolerance disorder.
Diagnosis of gestational diabetes
The doctor will diagnose the disease based on clinical and subclinical signs. However, it will mainly rely on subclinical
clinical
Obesity (BMI over 27kg / m2)
Pregnant women eat a lot, gain weight over 20kg
Big pregnancy, multiple amniotic fluid, stillbirth
Subclinical
Fasting blood sugar of pregnant women is equal to or above 126 mg / dl (7mmol / L)
Any pregnant blood sugar equal to or above 200mg / dl (11/1 mmol / L)
Test results for oral glucose tolerance (OGTT)
Treatment of gestational diabetes
If you have gestational diabetes, the chances of your baby having problems can be reduced by controlling blood sugar levels. You will be given a set of blood sugar tests so you can monitor the effectiveness of your treatment.
Blood sugar levels can be reduced by making changes in diet and exercise. However, if the sugar is still too high, you will need medication.
If you have gestational diabetes, it's best to give birth before 41 weeks. You may even need to have a baby earlier if there are concerns about the health of the mother and the baby, or if the blood sugar is not controlled.
Screening for gestational diabetes is extremely important to ensure the health of both mother and baby. In addition, mothers need to have a balanced diet to reduce the risk of this disease.
See more:
What to eat prone to gestational diabetes? Moms, don't be subjective!
What is gestational diabetes? Pregnant mothers need to do to treat?
What fruits should a mother with diabetes eat to be safe for mother and fetus?