by Gestational diabetes, which can occur after about 40 weeks of exciting waiting, worries many pregnant women. Gestational diabetes can also occur in women whose blood sugar levels have never increased before. However, this situation, which can be controlled by regular diet and exercise as well as medication if necessary, poses no problem for either the mother or the baby.
Although fasting blood sugar levels often return to normal after birth, 40% of women with gestational diabetes may develop diabetes within 20 years. So you need to make sure you exercise regularly and eat healthily.
Sugar Load Test
Gestational diabetes is controlled through a routine test applied to each woman who is expecting a baby. Fasting blood sugar is checked before the screening, called a sugar load test. People whose fasting blood sugar is above 125 are diabetic. A significant part of those whose measurement results are between 95 and 125 may suffer from diabetes. A load test is not applied to this group, but their blood sugar levels are monitored and controlled daily. Women with blood sugar levels below 95 do not suffer from diabetes, and their general condition is checked by drinking 50-75 grams of glucose. The given drink is absorbed through the intestine and goes to the liver, where it is processed and passed into the blood. Although the level increases in pregnant women whose blood sugar level is below 95 and who undergo a sugar load test, this level never reaches 200-300. On the other hand, contrary to popular belief, glucose loading does not harm the baby. Because the glucose that enters the body is very different from the sugar consumed on a daily basis. The incidence of gestational diabetes is higher in people who have already given birth to large babies, have a family history of diabetes or gestational diabetes, and in obese women over 35 years old.
Why does blood sugar increase during pregnancy?
The sugar processing mechanism in pregnant women may not work properly. Disruption of this process and the inability to get the sugar into the cell means that the cell cannot use it. As a result, blood sugar levels rise and diabetes appears. The function of the medicine used in the treatment of diabetes is to ensure that glucose enters the cell. The main goal of treatment is to normalize blood sugar levels; The second is to use it inside the cell to work well. This situation poses no problem other than pregnancy. However, due to the growth of the placenta, pregnancy hormones increase very sharply. These hormones make it difficult for glucose to enter the cell.
The sugar challenge test does not harm the baby.
Both the mother and the rapidly growing baby in her body need sugar as a source of energy. Glucose therefore first crosses the placenta. However, this system, which is at its limit before pregnancy, can reach the upper limit, especially in women with a pre-existing tendency to diabetes. In this case, glucose may harm the mother, but it does not cause any problems for the fetal organs. Because no matter how much sugar crosses the placenta, the more insulin is produced in the fetal pancreas, which has an infinite capacity for adjustment. However, because insulin is also a growth hormone, it can cause babies to be born large and overweight. Another important point here is that these babies, accustomed to the supply of glucose, continue to secrete insulin even if they are not fed accordingly after birth. It may therefore be necessary to give more sugar than other babies. Otherwise, blood sugar will drop quickly. Infant hypoglycemia in newborns is of great importance. Because the chance that babies in this group will have diabetes between the ages of 30 and 40 is about 20 percent, and that rate increases even more if their mother or siblings have diabetes. These babies need exercise and diet throughout their lives to stay healthy.
During pregnancy, it is enough to increase daily calorie intake by only 250 to 300 calories.
During a certain period of pregnancy, the level of satiety increases, which ensures that the expectant mother does not feel hungry. More than six hours between meals causes blood sugar to drop; Hypoglycemia is more harmful to the baby than hyperglycemia. This causes an increase in appetite. As the saturation limit increases, more food is consumed. However, because the physical activity of women who are expecting a baby is restricted compared to what it was before pregnancy, it becomes difficult for them to burn off the calories they consume. Pregnant women need 10 days to normalize their diet. The brain can be trained in 10 days on average. It is recommended that the mother-to-be consumes the same portion during pregnancy as when she was not pregnant. If necessary, you have to leave the table hungry. In this way, the center of saturation decreases to the required limit. For example; A person who is 1.70 meters tall and weighs 70 kilos needs 1,800 to 2,000 calories per day. During the second period of pregnancy, an average of 250 to 300 calories should be added. Knowing that a can of cola contains 250 calories, if this drink is consumed, the required daily amount will be completed. However, instead, it is necessary to spare a portion from breakfast and consume it in the morning, a portion from lunch in the afternoon and a portion like yogurt or fruit from dinner and consume it The evening. Thus, one will not experience hunger exceeding four hours. In addition to a balanced and regular diet, it is also necessary to walk or exercise for no more than 15-20 minutes in foggy and windless weather. It is the most important preventive exercise in the fight against diabetes. In pregnant women whose blood sugar level remains high despite all precautions, drug treatment is started after the third month.
Recommendations for preventing gestational diabetes:
- Dessert is not prohibited, as long as it is intended for tasting.
- A few thin slices of bread can be eaten for breakfast.
- If calories remain within normal limits, bread should be eliminated from other meals.
- Portions before pregnancy should be continued without increasing.
- If bread is eaten with a meal, rice, pastry, pasta or dessert should not be eaten with it.
- If you eat pastries at one meal and pasta at another meal on the same day, you should not eat rice or bread that day.
- You should not skip walking or exercising that does not exceed 15 to 20 minutes per day.
