Diabetes and Pregnancy

Also called: Gestational diabetes

Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or sugar, levels are too high. When you are pregnant, too much glucose is not good for your baby. Out of every 100 pregnant women in the United States, between three and eight get gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is diabetes that happens for the first time when a woman is pregnant. Gestational diabetes goes away when you have your baby, but it does increase your risk for having diabetes later. If you have already have diabetes before you get pregnant, you need to monitor and control your blood sugar levels. Either type of diabetes during pregnancy raises the risk of problems for the baby and the mother. To help reduce these risks, you should follow your meal plan , exercise, test your blood sugar and take your medicine.