2.0 - Gestational Treatment
The number one goal of treatment for gestational diabetes is keeping blood glucose (or blood sugar) levels within a safe range. One way of achieving this is by changing your eating and exercise patterns. Some women may require insulin injections to keep blood sugars in control. We will look at insulin and its role in gestational diabetes care later in the workshop.
Home Glucose monitoring is the best way to tell if your efforts to keep your blood sugar in control are working.
Your Health Care Team
In addition to your obstetrician, there are other health professionals who specialize in the management of diabetes during pregnancy including internists or diabetes specialists, registered dietitians, qualified nutritionists, and diabetes educators. Your doctor may recommend that you see one or more of these specialists during your pregnancy. In addition, a neonatologist (a doctor who specializes in the care of newborn infants) should also be called in to manage any complications the baby might develop after delivery.
One of the essential components in the care of a woman with gestational diabetes is a diet specifically tailored to provide adequate nutrition to meet the needs of the mother and the growing fetus. At the same time the diet has to be planned in such a way as to keep blood glucose levels in the normal range.
An obstetrician, diabetes educator, or other health care practitioner can teach you how to measure your own blood glucose levels at home to see if levels remain in an acceptable range on the prescribed diet.
The ability of patients to determine their own blood sugar levels with easytouse equipment represents a major milestone in the management of diabetes, especially during pregnancy. The technique called self blood glucose monitoring (discussed in detail later) allows you to check your blood sugar levels at home or at work without costly and timeconsuming visits to your doctor.
The values of your blood sugar levels also determine if you need to begin insulin therapy sometime during pregnancy. Short of frequent trips to a laboratory, this is the only way to see if blood glucose levels remain under good control.
Next Page - What Should I Eat?
