This is way for you to keep track of how often you can feel your baby move. Here are two ways to do kick counts:. If you have gestational diabetes, your provider tells you how often to check your blood sugar, what your levels should be and how to manage them during pregnancy.

Blood sugar is affected by pregnancy, what you eat and drink, and how much physical activity you get. You may need to eat differently and be more active. You also may need to take insulin shots or other medicines. Treatment for gestational diabetes can help reduce your risk for pregnancy complications.

Your provider begins treatment with monitoring your blood sugar levels, healthy eating, and physical activity. Insulin is the most common medicine for gestational diabetes.

If you have gestational diabetes, how can you help prevent getting diabetes later in life? For most people, gestational diabetes goes away after giving birth.

But having it makes you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Type 2 diabetes is the most common kind of diabetes.

Skip to main content. Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on YouTube Share on Linkedin More Places to Share. Gestational diabetes. Video file. Key Points Pregnant people who have gestational diabetes can and do have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.

Most pregnant people get a test for gestational diabetes at 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. If untreated, gestational diabetes can cause problems for your baby, such as premature birth and stillbirth.

Talk to your health care provider about what you can do to reduce your risk for gestational diabetes and help prevent diabetes in the future.

What is gestational diabetes? Who is at risk for gestational diabetes? Are overweight or obese and not physically active. Have had gestational diabetes or a baby with macrosomia in a past pregnancy. Have polycystic ovarian syndrome also called polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS.

This is a hormone problem that can affect reproductive and overall health. Have prediabetes. This means your blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes.

Have a parent, brother or sister who has diabetes. This control means that people in the dominant group are more likely to: Have better education and job opportunities Live in safer environmental conditions Be shown in a positive light by media, such as television shows, movies, and news programs.

Can gestational diabetes increase your risk for problems during pregnancy? If not treated, gestational diabetes can increase your risk for pregnancy complications and procedures, including: Macrosomia.

This means your baby weighs more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces 4, grams at birth. Babies who weigh this much are more likely to be hurt during labor and birth, and can cause damage to his or her mother during delivery. Shoulder dystocia or other birth injuries also called birth trauma.

Complications for birthing parents caused by shoulder dystocia include postpartum hemorrhage heavy bleeding. For babies, the most common injuries are fractures to the collarbone and arm and damage to the brachial plexus nerves.

These nerves go from the spinal cord in the neck down the arm. They provide feeling and movement in the shoulder, arm and hand. High blood pressure and preeclampsia. High blood pressure also called hypertension is when the force of blood against the walls of the blood vessels is too high.

It can stress your heart and cause problems during pregnancy. Preeclampsia is when a pregnant person has high blood pressure and signs that some of their organs, such as the kidneys and liver, may not be working properly.

Perinatal depression. This is depression that happens during pregnancy or in the first year after having a baby also called postpartum depression. Depression is a medical condition that causes feelings of sadness and a loss of interest in things you like to do.

It can affect how you think, feel, and act and can interfere with your daily life. Preterm birth. This is birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Most women who have gestational diabetes have a full-term pregnancy that lasts between 39 and 40 weeks.

However, if there are complications, your health care provider may need to induce labor before your due date. This means your provider will give you medicine or break your water amniotic sac to make your labor begin. This is the death of a baby after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Cesarean birth also called c-section. And with this help, you can turn your concern into a healthy pregnancy for you and a healthy start for your baby. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after pregnancy. But once you've had gestational diabetes, your chances are two in three that it will return in future pregnancies.

In a few women, however, pregnancy uncovers type 1 or type 2 diabetes. It is hard to tell whether these women have gestational diabetes or have just started showing their diabetes during pregnancy, but they will need to continue diabetes treatment after pregnancy.

Many women who have gestational diabetes go on to develop type 2 diabetes years later. There seems to be a link between the tendency to have gestational diabetes and type 2 diabetes since both involve insulin resistance.

However, certain basic lifestyle changes may help prevent diabetes after gestational diabetes. Learn about prevention. Losing even a few pounds can help you avoid developing type 2 diabetes. Healthy eating habits can go a long way in preventing diabetes and other health problems.

Regular exercise allows your body to use glucose without extra insulin. This helps combat insulin resistance and is what makes exercise helpful to people with diabetes. However, it is important to check with your doctor before starting an exercise program.

More on losing weight.

Your provider also may ask you to do kick counts also called fetal movement counts. This is way for you to keep track of how often you can feel your baby move. Here are two ways to do kick counts:.

If you have gestational diabetes, your provider tells you how often to check your blood sugar, what your levels should be and how to manage them during pregnancy. Blood sugar is affected by pregnancy, what you eat and drink, and how much physical activity you get.

You may need to eat differently and be more active. You also may need to take insulin shots or other medicines. Treatment for gestational diabetes can help reduce your risk for pregnancy complications. Your provider begins treatment with monitoring your blood sugar levels, healthy eating, and physical activity.

Insulin is the most common medicine for gestational diabetes. If you have gestational diabetes, how can you help prevent getting diabetes later in life? For most people, gestational diabetes goes away after giving birth.

But having it makes you more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Type 2 diabetes is the most common kind of diabetes. Skip to main content. Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on YouTube Share on Linkedin More Places to Share. Gestational diabetes.

Video file. Key Points Pregnant people who have gestational diabetes can and do have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.

Most pregnant people get a test for gestational diabetes at 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. If untreated, gestational diabetes can cause problems for your baby, such as premature birth and stillbirth. Talk to your health care provider about what you can do to reduce your risk for gestational diabetes and help prevent diabetes in the future.

What is gestational diabetes? Who is at risk for gestational diabetes? Are overweight or obese and not physically active. Have had gestational diabetes or a baby with macrosomia in a past pregnancy.

Have polycystic ovarian syndrome also called polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS. This is a hormone problem that can affect reproductive and overall health. Have prediabetes. This means your blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes.

Have a parent, brother or sister who has diabetes. This control means that people in the dominant group are more likely to: Have better education and job opportunities Live in safer environmental conditions Be shown in a positive light by media, such as television shows, movies, and news programs.

Can gestational diabetes increase your risk for problems during pregnancy? If not treated, gestational diabetes can increase your risk for pregnancy complications and procedures, including: Macrosomia. This means your baby weighs more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces 4, grams at birth.

Babies who weigh this much are more likely to be hurt during labor and birth, and can cause damage to his or her mother during delivery. Shoulder dystocia or other birth injuries also called birth trauma.

Complications for birthing parents caused by shoulder dystocia include postpartum hemorrhage heavy bleeding. For babies, the most common injuries are fractures to the collarbone and arm and damage to the brachial plexus nerves. These nerves go from the spinal cord in the neck down the arm.

They provide feeling and movement in the shoulder, arm and hand. High blood pressure and preeclampsia. High blood pressure also called hypertension is when the force of blood against the walls of the blood vessels is too high. It can stress your heart and cause problems during pregnancy.

Preeclampsia is when a pregnant person has high blood pressure and signs that some of their organs, such as the kidneys and liver, may not be working properly. Perinatal depression. This is depression that happens during pregnancy or in the first year after having a baby also called postpartum depression.

Depression is a medical condition that causes feelings of sadness and a loss of interest in things you like to do. It can affect how you think, feel, and act and can interfere with your daily life.

Preterm birth. This is birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Most women who have gestational diabetes have a full-term pregnancy that lasts between 39 and 40 weeks. However, if there are complications, your health care provider may need to induce labor before your due date.

This means your provider will give you medicine or break your water amniotic sac to make your labor begin. This is the death of a baby after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

The best way to lower your risk of gestational diabetes is to stay healthy and prepare your body for pregnancy. If you have overweight or obesity , you can take the following steps to prepare for pregnancy:.

Talk with a doctor or healthcare professional about the best way for you to reach a moderate weight because even a few pounds can make a difference in your risk level for gestational diabetes. Exercise moderately for at least 30 to 60 minutes each time. Adopt a nutrient-dense diet that focuses on vegetables , fruits , and whole grains.

In your first trimester , your healthcare professional will help you decide the best diet, blood sugar monitoring, and activities for you. You may want to ask them if seeing a dietitian would be right for you.

If you have gestational diabetes risk factors, then your healthcare professional may run tests in your first trimester to see if you have the condition.

Most pregnant people will receive routine blood tests, including testing for gestational diabetes, in the second trimester. All types of diabetes are related to the hormone insulin.

It regulates the amount of glucose in your blood by allowing sugar to move from the blood and into your cells. As you gain weight, your body uses insulin less effectively, so it needs to produce more in order to regulate the sugar in your blood.

This makes sugar stay in your blood long after a meal. A certain level of insulin resistance is expected during pregnancy. Some people may experience mild symptoms from the pregnancy or other pregnancy-associated conditions such as:.

However, gestational diabetes can increase your risk of other conditions. One of the most serious is preeclampsia , a pregnancy-specific disease that causes high blood pressure hypertension and can be fatal if not treated quickly.

It usually starts after 20 weeks of pregnancy with additional symptoms. Gestational diabetes is also associated with macrosomia , a condition in which your baby grows too big.

Macrosomia is associated with a higher risk of emergency cesarean delivery. Gestational diabetes can also lead to your baby having:. In cases of poorly managed gestational diabetes, your baby is at increased risk of stillbirth or neonatal intensive care unit admittance.

Some research has found that babies born to people with gestational diabetes are more likely to develop:. A doctor will order a gestational diabetes screening test during your second trimester. If you have certain risk factors, you may have the test done earlier in your first trimester. The screening can be done in one of two ways.

The first is called a glucose challenge test. The second test option is an oral glucose tolerance test. Many people are able to manage gestational diabetes through diet and exercise, which can be very effective in managing blood sugar levels.

A doctor will recommend a meal plan and exercise schedule. Exercises that are safe to perform during pregnancy include :. Avoid exercises that involve lying on your back or the potential for falling such as sports with lots of fast changes in direction.

A doctor will tell you what number range to look for. If your glucose is too high, call a doctor right away. A doctor will probably want to test your glucose levels in the office once a month to confirm your home readings.

This is because post-term delivery can increase your risks when you have gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes usually goes away on its own after you give birth. A doctor will test your blood sugar levels 6 to 12 weeks after you give birth to make sure your levels have returned to what they usually are.

Even if your blood sugar is back to standard after your baby arrives, gestational diabetes puts you at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life.

You should get tested every 3 years to make sure your blood glucose levels are within the usual range. You can decrease this risk by:. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

VIEW ALL HISTORY. Gestational diabetes causes high levels of blood sugar during pregnancy. Learn about symptoms, treatments, diet, prevention, and more. The gestational diabetes test is an important part of prenatal care, and all pregnant women should receive it.

Learn what to expect. Find out about…. Pregestational diabetes occurs when you have diabetes before becoming pregnant. Early delivery is more likely with gestational diabetes. If you have gestational diabetes, it's important to have prenatal care until you deliver.

Many people with gestational diabetes are able to deliver their babies at full term of 39—40 weeks. But that delivery may be earlier if there are….