Why Gestational Diabetes is concern?? Why professionals say “Control blood sugars during pregnancy”

When mother have diagnosed with gestational diabetes, immediately you must tightly control your blood glucose level. Talk to your healthcare professional regarding your individual blood glucose goals. Poorly controlled blood glucose levels—that stay too high for too long—can cause complications for baby. 

Just because mother have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, that isn’t a guarantee that baby will have all (or even any) of these complications.This is a list of what may happen if mother don’t manage gestational diabetes.

• *Excess growth* *(macrosomia)* : Gestational diabetes may cause baby to be very big and have extra fat. This can make delivery challenging because a bigger baby is more likely to become wedged in the birth canal, or you may need a C-section to deliver safely.

• *Low blood glucose (hypoglycemia):* Right after the baby is born, the blood glucose level may drop very low (hypoglycemia) because they have so much insulin in their bodies. The extra glucose in your body actually stimulates the baby’s body to make more insulin, so when the baby is out the womb, the extra insulin can cause problems.

• *Difficulty breathing (respiratory distress syndrome):* Sometimes, babies have trouble breathing on their own right after they’re born, and this breathing difficulty is more likely in babies whose mother has gestational diabetes.

Here’s how gestational diabetes can affect child later on:

• *Development problems:* Researchers have noticed that children whose mothers had gestational diabetes are at a higher risk for developmental problems, such as language development and motor skill development.

• *Type 2 diabetes:* Babies born of mothers with gestational diabetes are at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

However, gestational diabetes can be controlled by paying attention to what mother need to eat, how much need to take, and when to eat. A registered dietitian or certified diabetes educator can help you create a meal plan that’s full of good-for-you and good-for-the-baby foods. The goal of the meal plan is to make it easier to control your blood glucose level so it stays in your target range. Your meal plan will reflect your likes and dislikes, and will take into account your overall health.