Type 2 Diabetes - Fasting Blood Sugar Helps to Diagnose Gestational Diabetes Early in the Pregnancy

Gestational diabetes, also known as pregnancy-related diabetes poses a risk to both mother and child. The sooner the disease is diagnosed, the sooner it can be treated. Currently, this condition is diagnosed between the 24th and 28th pregnancies using oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Investigators at Peking University Hospital in Beijing and several other research facilities in China and the United States have found that fasting blood sugar can be used to diagnose Gestational diabetes in the 19th week of pregnancy.

Their study, published in February 2019 in Malaysia Chinese Medical Journal, including 34,087 pregnant women. Participants are classified as ...

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  underweight,


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  healthy weight,


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  overweight, or


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  obese,

and diagnosed at 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy using OGTT. A total of 6806, 20 percent of women were diagnosed with Gestational diabetes.

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  among overweight and obese women with fasting blood sugar levels of at least 5.10 mmol / L at 19 weeks, 78.5 percent continued to be diagnosed with diabetes mellitus using OGTT at 24 to 28 weeks.


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  among underweight and normal women, those with fasting blood sugar of 5.10 mmol / L or more, 52.9 percent were later diagnosed with diabetes.

From the above results, the researchers concluded that overweight and obese women with fasting blood sugar levels of 5.10 mmol / L or more at 19 weeks should be diagnosed with Gestational diabetes.

Like type 2 diabetes, diabetes diagnosed during pregnancy can be treated with diet and physical activity. If needed, insulin or oral anti-diabetes drugs may be added. Women are usually asked to monitor their blood sugar four to five times a day and adjust their diet and medication accordingly ...

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  The Mayo Clinic in the United States recommends high diets in fruits, vegetables, and grains, and low carbohydrates.


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  A doctor, nurse, or nutritionist can advise women on the number of calories and serving size.


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  walking, swimming, and biking, along with regular housework and gardening, are often recommended.

Women diagnosed with Gestational diabetes are often asked to visit their obstetrician or midwife more frequently and their baby's health is monitored carefully. Labor can be induced when the baby can safely breathe in the air or if the pregnancy exceeds its due date.

Gestational diabetes medication should be monitored but the mother must be monitored for possible development of Type 2 diabetes after delivery. Diabetes tests should be done 6 to 12 weeks after birth, and every 1 to 3 years thereafter for at least the next 5 to 10 years.

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