Gestational diabetes: the test, food and after the birth
Who is most at risk, how the glucose test works, how to eat without giving up the Albanian table and what happens after the birth.
4 min read
In this article
Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that appears during pregnancy, usually in the second or third trimester. It happens when your body cannot make as much insulin as pregnancy needs. It usually goes away after the birth.
Most women feel nothing. Sometimes there is thirst, needing to wee often, a dry mouth or tiredness, but these are common in pregnancy without diabetes too. That is why it is found through tests, not symptoms.
Who is most at risk
- women over 40
- women who are very overweight
- women who have had a baby weighing 4.5kg or more
- women who had it in a previous pregnancy
- women with a parent, brother or sister with diabetes
Being at risk does not mean you will get it. It means your doctor may ask you to have the test.
The glucose test
The test is usually done between weeks 24 and 28. You arrive without having eaten, give a blood sample, drink a very sweet liquid and give another sample about 2 hours later. If you had gestational diabetes before, the test may be done earlier. Ask your gynaecologist whether and when you need it.
Why it matters
Uncontrolled high blood sugar can make your baby very large, which makes birth harder and raises the chance of a caesarean or induction. It also raises the risk of premature birth, pre-eclampsia, and low blood sugar or jaundice in your baby after the birth. When blood sugar is kept under control, most women have healthy pregnancies and babies.
How it is treated
The first step is food and activity. You will be shown how to check your blood sugar at home. Walking, swimming or pregnancy yoga help bring blood sugar down after meals (see exercise in pregnancy). If your blood sugar stays high, your doctor adds tablets or insulin. That does not mean you have failed: sometimes pregnancy needs more than diet.
The Albanian table, adapted
-
1
Bread
White bread raises blood sugar quickly. Choose wholemeal or cornbread, and have fewer slices at a meal.
-
2
Byrek and pies
Not banned, but have a small piece with salad or yoghurt alongside, not as a whole meal.
-
3
Syrup-soaked sweets
Baklava, kadaif and revani are among the foods that raise blood sugar most. Keep them for rare occasions and small portions.
-
4
Juices
Fruit juices, even freshly squeezed, and fizzy drinks raise blood sugar fast. Eat whole fruit and drink water.
-
5
A balanced plate
Fill half the plate with vegetables and salad, a quarter with meat, fish, eggs or pulses, and a quarter with bread, rice, pasta or potatoes.
-
6
Small meals
Three small meals and two or three snacks a day keep blood sugar steadier than two big meals.
“Eat for two.” Every pregnant woman hears it. Your baby does not need you to eat double, and with gestational diabetes it makes blood sugar harder to control. What you eat matters more than how much.
After the birth
Gestational diabetes usually goes as soon as your baby is born. But your risk of type 2 diabetes later in life stays higher. Have a blood sugar test around 6 to 13 weeks after the birth, then once a year. In your next pregnancy, tell your gynaecologist early that you had it.
Breastfeeding, healthy eating and regular activity all help keep that risk low.
Common questions
Does gestational diabetes go away after the birth?
When is the glucose test done?
Can I eat fruit?
Does insulin harm my baby?
Sources we consulted
- NHS: Gestational diabetes
- WHO: Diabetes
Written by the mam.al editors as general information. It does not replace advice from your doctor or midwife. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.