When you have pre-diabetes, not only is your wellbeing at risk to diabetes further down the line, but you’re also at a higher risk of developing gestational diabetes, which affects the wellness of not only you, but your little one too.
Pre-diabetes, (or impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), depending on what test diagnoses it) occurs when your body struggles to make or use insulin, which raises your blood sugar significantly, but not quite to diabetic levels. This condition can lead to gestational diabetes when you are pregnant, as this is a stressful time for your body. With gestational diabetes, the hormones from the placenta contribute to your insulin resistance, so your body is less able to regulate blood sugar levels. Your pancreas is what usually makes insulin, but in gestational diabetes is cannot produce enough to overcome this resistance, so the glucose builds up in your blood because it cannot get into your cells to supply energy.
When you have gestational diabetes, you are at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes after delivering your baby, and your baby’s size could be affected, and become too big for a vaginal delivery. Your baby could also have low blood sugar levels at birth. However, there are things you can do, such as diet and exercise, which can help prevent or delay the onset of diabetes, even after having pre-diabetes or gestational diabetes.
Pre-diabetes does not automatically mean you’ll have any further forms of the disease, especially if you achieve a healthy blood glucose level. Start by planning your pregnancy with a doctor, so you become pregnant when you’re healthy enough to cope with it. You doctor can also give your recommendations for getting healthier before the pregnancy. When you modify your lifestyle, this can produce dramatic results. Studies have shown that lifestyle changes that include a low-fat diet and moderate exercise lowers your risk of developing diabetes by 58% over three years, and obviously refraining from smoking and drinking is always critical for your own health as well as your baby’s.
Finally, make sure you have a secure support network of friends and family, as well as dieticians, nutritionists, and exercise counsellors who can design a healthy diet and exercise regimen for you. You can reduce your risk of diabetes before, during, and after your pregnancy, but you don’t have to do it alone.
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