Risk of diabetes in pregnancy can be increased due to several biological factors. Diabetes in pregnancy, also referred to as gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that affects the blood glucose levels of women during their pregnancy. When women are pregnant, their blood levels can become extremely elevated due to the conditions of the pregnancy. For example, the placenta is the organ that houses the baby while it is growing inside of the mother. The placenta is attached to the mother’s supply of blood in order to provide the fetus with blood, oxygen, and nutrients.
The placenta produces hormones that can prevent the normal process of glucose and insulin. Normally, insulin, which is manufactured in the pancreas, is required in order to convert glucose into energy and move the energy into muscle, fat, and other tissues in the body. These hormones from the placenta block the insulin and its ability to do its job properly. This block enables the blood glucose level to remain high and the tissues in the body do not receive the fuel they require. As the baby continues to grow, the placenta produces additional hormones and insulin ability is further inhibited.
This condition can happen to any female in their pregnancy, and usually occurs in the second or third trimester, but there are multitudes of mitigating factors, which may cause the risk of diabetes in pregnancy to heighten and also to increase the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes after pregnancy.
Risk of Diabetes in Pregnancy – Contributing Factors
Numerous factors contribute to a women’s increased risk of diabetes in pregnancy. The most obvious risk factor is if the women has a family history of diabetes or is already in a pre-diabetic state. This term simply means that the woman has blood glucose levels that are above normal range and if they are not reduced, she will almost certainly develop type 2 diabetes.
Overweight women who have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of thirty or higher, are at greater risk for developing gestational diabetes. Age can also influence a women’s risk. If the mother is over twenty-five years of age, she also has a high risk for developing this condition. Race studies have shown that Caucasian women have a lessened risk of developing the disease than Asians, Hispanics, American-Indian or African-American do.
Women who have had gestational diabetes in previous pregnancies are almost guaranteed to develop diabetes in their subsequent pregnancies. In addition, women who bear babies over nine pounds or have had stillborn babies may develop this condition.
Risk of Diabetes in Pregnancy – Complications
There is still a lot of information that is unknown to researchers, but they do know that having gestational diabetes will increase the risks in pregnancy and produce severe and even life threatening issues, not just for mother, but for baby, as well. In addition to the mother having an abnormal blood sugar level, she and the baby, may put on a lot of excess weight with the pregnancy. Having a larger than average child can make delivery much more difficult and may result in having an unplanned caesarian section.
As her delivery is affected, her labor may be at risk also. Many mothers that suffer from gestational diabetes often go into labor earlier than the anticipated thirty eight to forty weeks, ending with a baby that is preterm and not ready to be born. The fetus, in addition to having underdeveloped lungs and other organs, may need to be put on a respirator, which will breathe for him.
Ironically, as the mother suffered from high blood glucose levels, the baby may experience the opposite issue, low glucose levels, or hypoglycemia, due to the overdriven insulin during pregnancy. Hypoglycemia needs to be monitored very carefully as multiple episodes could lead to seizures and other problems.
