Health in pregnancy: gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes is fairly common, affecting around one in 20 pregnancies. By adopting healthy lifestyle habits you can help to manage blood sugar levels and lower your risk of other complications associated with this condition.

What is it?

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that develops during pregnancy. It occurs when your blood sugar levels become too high. This can happen due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, that affect insulin production and how it is utilised in the body.

Insulin is essential for regulating our blood sugar levels, so when the body can’t produce enough to meet the increased demands during pregnancy, it can lead to gestational diabetes. If it does develop, it usually goes away after giving birth.

Anyone can get gestational diabetes, but certain factors can put you at higher risk of developing it. According to the NHS, these risk factors can include:

Being over 40
A body mass index (BMI) above 30
Having a previous baby that weighed 10lbs or more at birth
Having had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy
Having a parent or sibling with diabetes
Being of south Asian, Black, African-Caribbean or Middle Eastern origin
Having a gastric bypass or other weight-loss surgery

If you’ve had gestational diabetes, it can mean you are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes in future.

What sort of symptoms does it cause?

It can be hard to know if you have gestational diabetes as usually there are no noticeable symptoms. Some people may experience increased thirst, frequent urination, a dry mouth, fatigue, blurred eyesight or genital itching or thrush. However, some of these symptoms are experienced as part of pregnancy in general.

If you are at risk of developing gestational diabetes, speak to your midwife or GP, from there they may
refer you for a test.

How can it affect your pregnancy?

It’s natural to feel concerned and anxious if you find out you’ve got gestational diabetes. According to Tommy’s website, it can increase your risk of possible complications during pregnancy or birth, however, most people go on to have healthy pregnancies with effective diagnosis and management of the condition.

How can it be managed?

Management of gestational diabetes typically involves some lifestyle adjustments, which include:

Eating a healthy diet – Eating healthily can help you to manage your blood sugar levels. If you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, you should be referred to a dietitian who will be able to provide advice tailored to you. Diabetes UK include general guidance on how to eat well, such as including healthier carbohydrates, cutting down on sugar, being mindful of portion sizes, spreading carbs out when snacking and understanding the glycaemic index (GI) of foods (GI is a measure of how quickly foods affect your blood sugar levels).
Keeping physically active – Keeping active during pregnancy not only supports you to manage blood sugar levels, it also helps you to adapt to your changing body shape, and can help you cope better during labour. Another advantage is that it can help to relieve symptoms associated with pregnancy, such as back pain or trouble with sleep.
Consider gentle types of activity, such as walking, swimming and prenatal yoga. As a general rule, you should be able to hold a conversation while you exercise when pregnant. If you become breathless as you talk, you’re probably exercising too strenuously and need to slow it down.
Managing your weight – Excess weight can make it harder to manage your blood sugar levels and put you at higher risk of other complications, such as high blood pressure. The Tommy’s website states the best way to manage your weight when pregnant is by eating a healthy diet and staying active.
To protect the health of you and your baby, it does not advise using diets to try to lose weight while pregnant.
Eating well, regular activity and managing your weight can also help you to reduce your risk of developing gestational diabetes if you don’t currently have it, and haven’t had it previously. If lifestyle changes alone are not able to control blood sugar levels, medication may be required.

Keeping track of blood sugar levels

If you have gestational diabetes, you’ll need to monitor your blood sugar levels everyday to ensure the health of you and your baby. This new responsibility on top of everything else can feel overwhelming and take some getting use to.

If you do find yourself struggling to cope, speak to your midwife who will be able to offer support.
You can also contact the Diabetes UK helpline for a chat on 0345 123 2399.

Watch this video by Diabetes UK to hear about someone’s experience of gestational diabetes during pregnancy, and how they managed it.

What are the impacts at work?

If you have gestational diabetes, you may have to attend additional appointments or scans. Letting your employer know can allow them to support you. Legally, you have to let your employer know you are pregnant 15 weeks before your baby is due, but letting them know sooner could allow them to support you with attending any additional appointments during working hours.

Some of the symptoms may affect how you feel at work, such as fatigue or blurred vision. How much this impacts you will depend on the type of symptoms you experience and your job role. Any risks to you or your baby should be highlighted in a risk assessment that your employer carries out.

Monitoring your blood sugar levels at work may affect when you need to eat. Making your line manager aware you have gestational diabetes provides an opportunity for them to support you with things like finding a private space to check blood sugar levels, and allowing you to eat around breaks if needed.

You can read more about pregnancy and work on the NHS website and at Maternity Action UK. Further information about diabetes and work is available at Diabetes UK.

Sources:
https://www.tommys.org/pregnancy-information/pregnancy-complications/gestational-diabetes
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-the-basics/gestational-diabetes