Gestational diabetes, while only affecting 5% of pregnancies, can have serious effects on your baby. Here's a quick rundown on some of the possible complications.
During the 24th - 28th week of pregnancy, your doctor will give you a simple blood test for diabetes. Blood glucose levels, or blood sugar levels, that are elevated may be a sign of gestational diabetes. Left unchecked, this can cause:
Jaundice
Jaundice is fairly common after 5-7 days of birth. Generally, this is not a serious health issue, but needs medical attention nonetheless.
Death or baby being stillborn
The risk of death or stillbirth rises significantly with gestational diabetes that is left untreated.
Hypoglycemia
There are times when babies will develop low blood sugar after birth due to gestational diabetes in their mother. Their own insulin production has been extremely high in countering the increased levels of blood sugar, but is now needing some time to go down to a regular level.
Macrosmia
There are times when a baby will grow to a much larger size due to untreated gestational diabetes. This condition is known as macrosmia. It happens when the baby is exposed to far greater amounts of blood sugar.
Shoulder Dsytocia
Although rare, due to the increase in size of the baby it is unable to come through the birth canal.
Although gestational diabetes affects fewer than 1 in 10 women who are pregnant, it is a serious condition that must be treated.
To learn more visit
http://www.pregnancy-guidelines.com
http://pregnancyguidelines.blogspot.com
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