Thursday, May 1, 2008

What is the relationship of pregnancy to diabetes mellitus


What is the relationship of pregnancy to diabetes mellitus?

Women's Health - 2 Answers
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1 :
A pregnant woman who does not have diabetes can develop “gestational diabetes” later in pregnancy. A woman with gestational diabetes will need to watch her blood sugar closely and balance food intake, exercise, and, if needed, insulin shots to keep her blood sugar in control. If a woman with gestational diabetes does not keep her blood sugar in good control, she could have several problems. She might have an extra large baby, have high blood pressure, deliver too early, or need to have a cesarean section (an operation to get the baby out of the mother through her abdomen). The extra large baby might cause the woman to feel uncomfortable during the last months of pregnancy. Also, it could lead to problems for both the woman and the baby during delivery. When the baby is delivered surgically by a cesarean section (C-section), it takes longer for the woman to recover from childbirth. High blood pressure when a woman is pregnant might lead to an early delivery and could cause seizures or a stroke in the woman. Sometimes gestational diabetes in women does not go away after delivery. These women have converted to Type 2 diabetes. A woman whose diabetes does not go away after delivery will need to manage her diabetes for the rest of her life.
2 :
Diabetes is often detected in women during their childbearing years and can affect the health of both the mother and her unborn child. Poor control of diabetes in a woman who is pregnant increases the chances for birth defects and other problems for the baby. It might cause serious complications for the woman, also. Proper health care before and during pregnancy will help prevent birth defects and other poor outcomes, such as miscarriage or stillbirth. What is diabetes? Diabetes is a condition in which the body cannot use the sugars and starches (carbohydrates) it takes in as food to make energy. The body either makes too little insulin in the pancreas or cannot use the insulin it makes to change those sugars and starches into energy. As a result, the body collects extra sugar in the blood and gets rid of some sugar in the urine. The extra sugar in the blood can damage organs of the body, such as the heart, eyes, and kidneys, if it is allowed to collect in the body too long. The 3 most common types of diabetes are Type 1, Type 2, and gestational. * Type 1 diabetes is a condition in which the pancreas makes so little insulin that the body can’t use blood sugar for energy. Type 1 diabetes must be controlled with daily insulin shots. * Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which the body either makes too little insulin or can’t use the insulin it makes to use blood sugar for energy. Often Type 2 diabetes can be controlled through eating a proper diet and exercising regularly. Some people with Type 2 diabetes have to take diabetes pills or insulin or both. * Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs in a pregnant woman who did not have diabetes before she was pregnant. Often gestational diabetes can be controlled through eating a proper diet and exercising regularly, but sometimes a woman with gestational diabetes must also take insulin shots. Usually gestational diabetes goes away after pregnancy, but sometimes it doesn’t. Also, many women who have had gestational diabetes develop Type 2 diabetes later in life. What are some common problems caused by diabetes? People with diabetes can get high blood pressure, kidney disease, nerve damage, heart disease, and blindness. Young women with diabetes might not have these problems yet. The damage caused by these problems often happen in people whose blood sugar has been out of control for years. Keeping blood sugar under control can help prevent the damage from happening. People with diabetes can go into “diabetic coma” if their blood sugar is too high. They can also develop blood sugar that is too low (hypoglycemia) if they don’t get enough food, or they exercise too much without adjusting insulin or food. Both diabetic coma and hypoglycemia can be very serious, and even fatal, if not treated quickly. Closely watching blood sugar, being aware of the early signs and symptoms of blood sugar that is too high or too low, and treating those conditions early can prevent these problems from becoming too serious. How does a person get diabetes? We don’t know exactly how people get diabetes. However, it appears that both genetics and personal lifestyle play a role in who gets diabetes. Some people have diabetes that “runs” in the family. Lack of exercise, poor eating habits, and obesity seem to increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in other people. In some, but not all cases, Type 2 diabetes can be controlled if people lose weight, eat right, and exercise regularly. Can a person prevent problems from diabetes? A person with diabetes who keeps her blood sugar as close to normal as possible has fewer problems than a person who does not keep his blood sugar in “tight control.” A woman with diabetes who can get pregnant should watch her blood sugar closely to prevent problems if she should get pregnant. To keep blood sugar in tight control, a person can manage her diabetes with a strict plan: * Eat healthy foods from personal diabetes meal plan * Exercise regularly * Monitor blood sugar often * Take medications on time, including insulin if ordered by the doctor. * Know how to adjust food intake, exercise, and insulin depending on the results of blood sugar tests * Control or treat low blood sugar and high blood sugar * Follow up with health care provider regularly Return to top How does gestational diabetes differ from Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes? Gestational diabetes happens in a woman who develops diabetes during pregnancy. Some women have more than one pregnancy affected by diabetes that disappears after the pregnancy ends. About half of women with gestational diabetes will develop Type 2 diabetes later. If not controlled, gestational diabetes can cause the baby to grow extra large and lead to problems with delivery for the mother and the baby. Gestational diabetes might be controlled with diet and exercise, or it might take insulin as well as diet and exercise to get control. Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes often are present before a woman gets pregnant. If not controlled before and during pregnancy, Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes can cause the baby to have birth defects and cause the mother to have problems (or her problems to worsen if they are already present), such as high blood pressure, kidney disease, nerve damage, heart disease, or blindness. Type 1 diabetes must be controlled with a balance of diet, exercise, and insulin. Type 2 diabetes might be controlled with diet and exercise, or it might take diabetes pills or insulin or both as well as diet and exercise to get control.






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Posted by Diabetes Melitus at 10:03 AM