What causes gestational diabetes during pregnancy? This is a very important question to ask. Although most mothers with gestational diabetes have healthy babies, there are risks involved with having gestational diabetes during pregnancy. For example, babies of diabetes patients tend to be of a larger size than most babies. Therefore, there is an increased risk of the baby being injured during the birth and a c-section may have to be performed. Also, pregnant women with gestational diabetes must control their blood sugar levels to avoid harming themselves or their babies. This is why it is vital to know what causes gestational diabetes during pregnancy, and how, if possible, to prevent it.
During digestion, the body breaks down most of what you eat into glucose, which is basically sugar. The cells then use this sugar for energy. The way that glucose enters your cells from the bloodstream is with the help of a hormone called insulin. In diabetes, either your cells do not produce enough insulin or the cells do not respond to the insulin. Therefore, sugar remains in the bloodstream, causing harm overtime.
The hormonal changes that occur in pregnancy cause cells to become insulin resistant as well. In most pregnancies this isn’t a problem. When the body needs more insulin because of this, the pancreas creates more for it. However, if your body cannot keep up with the increasing need for insulin, too much blood sugar stays in the bloodstream. This is what causes gestational diabetes during pregnancy.
Risk Factors of Gestational Diabetes
To better understand what causes gestational diabetes during pregnancy, one must understand who is at risk. The first major risk factor is being obese or being overweight. Women who have a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0 to 29.9 are considered overweight, and those that have a BMI of over 30 are considered obese. These women have the greatest risk of gestational diabetes. Also, if you have had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy you are at risk of it again. This is dependent on your weight during the first trimester, however. Previously having a large baby, specifically one with a birth weight that is greater than the 90th percentile is another factor that puts you at a greater risk of gestational diabetes.
Age also contributes to what causes gestational diabetes. Women who are 35 or older are most at risk. A family history of diabetes is also a large part of what causes gestational diabetes. People who have a parent or sibling with diabetes are at risk. In addition to this genetic factor, people who are from certain ethnic backgrounds are at more of a risk than others. The ethnic groups most at risk are: Hispanic American, African American, Native American, Asian American, Indigenous Australian, and Pacific Islander.
