You may observe many changes occurring in the body of a woman when she becomes pregnant. One such change is high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. Many refer to it as gestational diabetes. Almost up to 3% of women are at a risk of suffering from diabetes during pregnancy.
Women in their second trimester of pregnancy are susceptible to get gestational diabetes, however it has also been observed to occur in the later weeks of first trimester. High blood sugar level during pregnancy can be a problem for the fetus as well as the pregnant mother at the time of birth.
Usually blood sugar level in gestational diabetes comes to its normal value some time after the delivery.
High Blood Sugar Symptoms In Pregnancy
The symptoms of high blood sugar during pregnancy are often ignored as they look similar to normal pregnancy symptoms. Therefore many gynecologists give prenatal advice to their patients to make them complacent with the pregnancy and problems related to it. Some of the symptoms experienced due to high blood sugar during pregnancy are:
- Excessive thirst. This type of thirst is characteristically unquenchable. The patient is not satisfied even after drinking enough water at a time.
- Increased frequency of urination.
- Increased sweating.
- Extreme hunger.
- Rapid growth of fetus to its gestational age. This leads to further complications during delivery such as cesarean section etc.
- Sweet smell in urine.
- Extreme fatigue and tiredness.
- Frequent urinary tract infection.
- Blurred vision.
- Dry skin.
Causes Of High Sugar Levels In Pregnancy
- Although the definite cause for high blood sugar during pregnancy is not known, there are credible clues and risk factors detected that can support the cause for gestational diabetes.
- Hormones that are secreted by the placenta are useful for the development of the fetus. However these pregnancy hormones may restrict the insulin secretion and thus there is rise of sugar level in the blood.
- Obesity: it has been observed that obese women are at a greater risk of getting gestational diabetes. The obesity is associated prior to conception.
- Other risk factors include: women of African American origin, Hispanics and Asian women.
- Previous history of gestational diabetes.
- Woman suffering from border line diabetes.
- Family history of diabetes.
- History of previous delivery of high birth weight babies.
- Woman over the age of 30 years.
High Blood Sugar Levels During Pregnancy
What is considered high blood sugar during pregnancy?
Many body changes occur during pregnancy, high blood sugar level occurs in the second trimester of pregnancy in some women. Most of the time doctors advise certain blood test during pregnancy to detect diabetes. 3 hour oral glucose tolerance test also known as OGTT is one such test.
Blood glucose is estimated three to four times at the intervals of half an hour. One high blood sugar detection is considered to be glucose intolerance. If the high blood sugar level is detected two or more times than it indicates gestational diabetes.
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