Type 2 Diabetes - Pregnancy Weight Gain in Gestational Diabetes!

The recommended pregnancy weigh gain for most women is between 15 and 20 pounds (6.8 and 9 kg). According to research published recently in the journal Gynecological Endocrinology, less could be better in women with Gestational diabetes, the type of diabetes that appears during pregnancy. Researchers in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Cheil General Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center in Seoul, Korea, looked at weight gain and the pregnancy outcome in infants and mothers in cases of Gestational diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes in Overweight Women: Two hundred and fifteen women with body mass indexes of 25 or over (overweight) and diagnosed with Gestational diabetes were included in the study. Volunteers were classified into those with:

Diabetes Pregnancy

• inadequate weight gain
• normal weight gain, and
• more than enough weight gain

Volunteers with excessive weight gain had more cases of:

• overly large babies
• higher HbA1c at delivery, and
• higher blood sugar levels

than those without excessive weight gain.

Volunteers with weight gain usually considered inadequate:

• had healthier infants, and
• fewer mothers had blood sugar levels high enough to require insulin

It was therefore concluded that lower weight gain than is usually recommended and good control of blood sugar could result in better outcomes in both mothers and infants in cases of overweight and obese pregnant women.

Typical problems occurring in infants of mothers with Gestational diabetes include:

• unhealthy growth and weight gain
• blood abnormalities
• breathing problems
• stillbirth
• heart, kidney and limb deformities, and
• defects of the brain and spinal cord

Growth problems can consist of either overgrowth, which can cause fractured shoulders during birth, or undergrowth and low birth weight. The baby's lungs can be underdeveloped, resulting in difficulty with breathing. The infant's blood sugar can be low due to his/her pancreas making too much insulin to try to cope with the mother's high blood sugar.

Blood levels of calcium and magnesium can be abnormal. The baby's heart can be weak or have their major blood vessels attached abnormally. The center of the heart can be too thick or have a hole. The heart can be too large or have deformities causing the blood not to flow out freely.

Nervous system defects include small brain, split spinal cords (spina bifida), deformities in the ends of the spinal cord and cerebral palsy.

Mothers with gestational diabetes run the risk of Cesarean section due to overgrown infants. A cesarean section, or C-section, is a surgical procedure that is essentially "abdominal delivery". About one in four babies is delivered by cesarean section. They are also at risk of:

• high blood pressure
• swollen legs
• protein in the blood, and
• convulsions (preeclampsia and eclampsia)

The treatment for Gestational diabetes is controlling blood sugar levels through diet, exercise, insulin if necessary, and blood sugar monitoring. And the best idea is to be under the care of an obstetrician, a diabetes specialist, and a dietitian. Guidelines for nutrition and weight gain during a diabetic pregnancy depend on your current health, the fetal size, and your weight.

Type 2 Diabetes - Pregnancy Weight Gain in Gestational Diabetes!

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