Type 2 Diabetes - Defining Gestational Diabetes

A study conducted at the Women's Health Education and Research Hospital in Ankara, Turkey, underscores the importance of defining Gestational diabetes. The research, reported on in the European Review of Medical and Pharmacological Science in May 2013, compared the use of calorie-restricted diets with that of non-restricted diets in 100 women with possible cases of Gestational diabetes.

The women selected for the study had blood sugar levels of at least 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) after taking in 50 grams of sugar, although they tested negative (normal), when given an oral glucose tolerance test. It was found the pregnant women following a calorie-restricted diet tended to have better outcomes than those who ate unrestricted diets.

• the average birth weight in the calorie-restricted group was 3328 +/- 399 grams
• babies whose mothers ate unrestricted diets had an average birth weight of 3623 +/- 485 grams.

Thirty-two percent of mothers in the calorie-restricted group had to have Cesarean operations, while 40 percent in the unrestricted group needed the procedure.

From these results, it was concluded mothers in the calorie-restricted group had a better outcome than those without caloric restrictions.

Gestational diabetes or diabetes of pregnancy is usually defined as having an abnormal glucose tolerance test, but the more sensitive glucose challenge test detected slight abnormalities in sugar metabolism. Treating the women with slight abnormalities appears to have lowered the number of babies born overweight, but in many cases the untreated mothers gave birth to normal-sized babies as well.

Mothers with abnormal glucose challenge tests might do well to consider other factors when deciding whether calorie restriction and dietetic counselling for Gestational diabetes are necessary. Factors such as:

• a history of having had an overweight baby,
• family history of overweight babies,
• personal or family history of high blood pressure,
• family history of diabetes of pregnancy or Type 2 diabetes, or
• personal history of overweight or obesity

could be taken into account.

Whatever number of calories is chosen, all pregnant women need to take in nutrients to make sure of a good outcome for themselves and their infants...

• calcium is needed to make new little bones and to avoid withdrawing calcium stores from the mother's own bones.
• vitamin D is important for calcium absorption.
• folic acid, or folate, is a vitamin that prevents birth defects of the spinal cord.
• iron is necessary for making new red blood cells. Mothers as well as babies need the iron, because mothers increase their own blood supply during pregnancy.

Here's to your family's health.

Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. By making easy changes to your daily routine, its possible to protect your heart, kidneys, eyes and limbs from the damage often caused by diabetes, and eliminate some of the complications you may already experience.