Blood Sugar Control in Gestational Diabetes

Strict blood sugar management in gestational diabetes is favorable for the babies’ health but increases the risk of certain major complications for mothers.

Highlights:

Managing gestational diabetes reduces health risk to the expecting mother and unborn child
Tighter control of blood sugar levels during pregnancy reduces the risk of infant mortality and birth injury
Tighter management of gestational diabetes has quadrupled the risk of health consequences for the mother, such as postpartum hemorrhage

Lowering the blood sugar level for women with gestational diabetes did not decrease the likelihood of having large babies. However, it reduced the risk of infant death or birth injury.

Gestational diabetes is a widespread health issue that frequently results in the birth of especially large newborns. These babies have a high chance of developing type 2 diabetes and obesity as adults.

Gestational Diabetes About
The condition is not caused by a lack of insulin, but by the action of hormones produced during pregnancy that blocks the action of insulin.

‘Although strict blood sugar control in gestational diabetes increases the risk of some serious complications for women, it is beneficial for the health of the unborn child.’

Women can change their diets and use medications to control their blood sugar. But it is still uncertain how tightly to control the blood sugar levels to reduce the risk to the expecting mother and unborn child.

Blood Sugar Management in Gestational Diabetes

Researchers studied 1,100 pregnant women with gestational diabetes at ten hospitals in New Zealand. The study involved switching each hospital’s blood sugar targets from higher to lower. The results for the mothers and their offspring in each group were compared. Tighter blood sugar control did not result in larger-than-expected newborns. However, it mitigated the risk of infant death, injury and shoulder dystocia by 50% after delivery.

Implications of Strict Blood Sugar Control in Gestational Diabetes

Tighter management nearly quadrupled the chance of catastrophic health consequences for the mother, including issues like postpartum hemorrhage.

Microbial Link between Gut Health and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM)
Gut health reflected by gut microbiota helps manage diabetes mellitus in pregnant women known as Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). Gut microbiota imbalance during pregnancy induces glucose intolerance and, thereby, gestational diabetes.

The new findings can assist physicians in determining the target blood sugar level that each patient should work toward while controlling their gestational diabetes. The study is the biggest randomized comparison of two blood sugar level objectives in a varied population that has been documented to date. The researchers noted that additional randomized trials in various healthcare settings are still required to corroborate their findings.

“This unique trial allowed for the sequential implementation of the newly, recommended tighter treatment targets for women with gestational diabetes and assessed if there are true benefits, without harm, to use of tighter treatment targets,” said Caroline Crowther of the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

Can Healthy Diet Reduce Gestational Diabetes Risk?
Pregnant women consuming vegetables, fruits, berries, and wholegrain products during early pregnancy are at lower the risk of developing gestational diabetes.

Source-Medindia

Gestational Diabetes- A Risk Factor for Heart Disease
Women diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) may have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease development finds a new study.