Gestational diabetes: pathophysiology, management, and clinical outcomes

Health

Gestational Diabetes

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and analyze the topic of human development. Specifically it will discuss gestational diabetes relating to everyday life. Gestational diabetes occurs in pregnant women who have not had diabetes prior to their pregnancy, and doctors are not really sure why it occurs, but they do believe that usage of a mother's insulin by the placenta is involved. In other words, the mother is not able to create enough insulin for her body to use, and it can affect both the mother and the baby. Other experts believe that the disease is caused by elevated hormone levels that only occur during pregnancy (Lewis, 2002). The disease affects about 4% of pregnant women, but that adds up to over 135,000 cases every year in America ("Gestational diabetes," 2007). Gestational diabetes can lead to many developmental problems in infants and children and problems for mothers, as well, which is why it is such a pressing problem during pregnancy.

When a mother suffers from gestational diabetes, her blood glucose levels are higher, and this blood glucose (sugar) transfers to the baby through the placenta. This causes the baby to create more insulin to overpower the blood glucose, and this creates extra energy in the baby, which has nowhere to go, and so, it is stored in the baby as fat. This creates the term known as "macrosomia, or a 'fat' baby" ("Gestational diabetes," 2007). These babies face a variety of health problems, from shoulder damage at birth, to being more prone to obesity and type-2 diabetes as children and adults. Because they have created so much extra insulin, they may also suffer from low blood glucose levels and breathing troubles after they are born.

In mothers, gestational diabetes can be a warning sign that they may develop type-2 diabetes, or have been suffering from diabetes and never knew it. Another author notes, "One large study found that more than half of women who had gestational diabetes eventually developed type 2 diabetes" (Lewis, 2002). In addition, if a mother develops gestational diabetes once, the chances are far greater that she will develop it again in another pregnancy. In addition, gestational diabetes is more common in some races than others. Another author notes, "African-American women are at an increased risk for developing gestational diabetes, experts say. Much like other forms of diabetes, gestational diabetes affects the way your body uses blood sugar (glucose). In the case of gestational diabetes, your blood-sugar level is too high" ("Exercise & pregnancy," 2006). Women suffering from gestational diabetes are also more prone to suffer from toxemia, as well. Another writer states, "Compared with women who don't have diabetes, women with diabetes are up to five times more likely to develop toxemia, a disorder marked by hypertension, protein in the urine, swelling, headache, and visual disturbances" (Meadows, 2001, p. 7). Exercise has proven to help remove the risk of gestational diabetes in some women, especially those who are overweight when they become pregnant.