Gestational Diabetes and Premature Birth

Gestational diabetes, a bit like other sorts of diabetes, can cause premature birth also as other complications, especially if it goes untreated.

Pregnant women with diabetes can have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. The key’s to stay diabetes in check to reduce or prevent complications. The more complicated diabetes is, the more problems it can cause like a premature birth.

While you must follow gestational diabetes closely, if you control it well with diet, exercise, and medications if necessary, it’s not usually as serious as having pregestational diabetes (having type 2 or type 1 diabetes before becoming pregnant). Of course, there are still risks.

What Is Gestational Diabetes

Your body uses sugar for energy. The sugar goes from your blood into your body’s cells with the assistance of a hormone called insulin. Once the sugar is within the cells, it will convert to energy or store. But, if the body doesn’t make enough insulin, or it can’t use the insulin well, then the sugar has trouble getting into the cells and stays within the blood instead. High levels of sugar within the blood goes by the name of DM .

Gestational DM (GDM) is diabetes that develops during pregnancy. After the pregnancy ends, gestational diabetes usually goes away, and blood glucose levels typically return to normal.

Risk of Preterm Labor or a premature birth

The complications caused by elevated blood glucose levels can increase the danger of premature birth. Studies show that the danger of premature delivery thanks to gestational diabetes is bigger if a mother develops diabetes before the 24th week of pregnancy. After the 24th week, the probabilities of preterm birth go down.

Read more about “How GDM Affects Babies“. For medical help, visit our Gynecology Department today and consult one of our experts!