Having a life-form inside one’s womb is one of the noblest undertakings any woman could ever have. It is one of the most challenging too, and being able to get through it can really make any female a whole lot wiser, and a whole lot better in terms of overall well-being. What makes it a very difficult challenge is the physical efforts you need to pour through it.
Because of the very fact that there is another human growing inside you, great physical changes are happening to your own body as well, and some of these changes can be easily labeled as “unpleasant.” But pregnancy should be a journey that you can enjoy as well. For that reason, it would be best to learn some methods that you can utilize the make the process of pregnancy be as bearable as possible.
One such method is by combating physical complications or illnesses that lurk in the corners, waiting to prey on you, robbing you of the joyous rewards that await in motherhood. By keeping such illnesses at bay, pregnancy could be the most profitable event that could take place in your life.
In connection with that, let’s talk about diabetes as one of the most serious obstacles that the otherwise amazing entirety of childbearing can deliver.
Getting Acquainted With Gestational Diabetes
Some diabetics inherited their condition via hereditary means, while others got it because of their eating habits. Some however became diabetics just as they are going through pregnancy. That’s what differentiates Gestational diabetes from the conventional form of diabetes that we know of – it is one of the most dangerous manifestations of hosting a life-form inside your womb.
To simply put it, we might say that Gestational Diabetes is something that only develops during pregnancy, something that wouldn’t have happened any other way around. Statistically speaking, there are up to 9% of women could get it during the earliest years of its discovery. In the recent decade, however, the number has known to rise up to 56%, which could be due to problems of dieting and food-choice patterns.
How does it happen and how does it affect both the mother and the child?
It is common knowledge that the placenta is a temporary organ that the female body generates so that there can be a smooth connection between the baby and the mother. Without it, the child would not get the accommodation he or she needs. If there is no placenta, there would be no way for the nutrients that the mother ingests to be passed into the growing baby’s body. Furthermore, the hormones needed by both the mother and the child would not be regulated without it.
During the 20th to 24th week of pregnancy, some of those hormones might impair the very act of regulating the insulin processing of the mother’s body, lowering its efficacy. As the placenta grows larger, the problem could get worse too. Although the pancreas will do its task of dealing with it, there are cases in which it can’t bear the pressure too. This is one of the reasons why a mother accumulates diabetes as she is getting through the process of pregnancy.
Consequently, the baby’s body could have similar reactions too. Even though he or she has already been detached from the mother’s body during birth, the baby’s pancreas could have adapted the habit of producing more insulin than what’s necessary.
As the baby no longer receives sugar-based energy from the mother, hypoglycemia could take place, due to the baby having low blood sugar levels. Seizures could occur, which will result in having the baby’s vitals monitored religiously. Having diabetic offspring in the making is something that nobody wants to undergo.
Who are the most likely victims?
One interesting fact about Gestational Diabetes is that it seems to manifest differently among races. For instance, it’s been known to rate higher among Asians and Hispanics. This doesn’t mean that Caucasian women should be less-careful though, as it could also affect them, though at a much lower rate only.
To figure out if you have a high risk of getting it, you have to know if you belong to any of these categories:
• Being obese or overweight
• Has a family history of diabetes
• Older than 25 years old
• Having given birth to large babies in the past
Whichever item you may fall, it would be wise to condition your mind into avoiding what little risk is ahead of you. It would be smart and decisive now than have lots of regrets later.
Why Gestational Diabetes Should Be Battled Seriously
Because having this physical condition can lead to more unpleasant outcomes, it should be treated with the most strategic and meticulously-crafted courses of action. The science behind pregnancy is one of the most thoroughly-researched scientific fields ever, it should also go without saying that the methods to be employed as one undergoes through it should be well-planned too. It is because the following complications must be avoided:
Because you might have a “larger than usual baby.”
Since diabetes is mainly about having unusual blood sugar levels, it could also result in an unregulated sugar intake for the baby inside the mother’s womb. In effect, the baby could get more than what it needs, thereby growing larger than usual. This could result in other problems such as the mother becoming too overburdened at a physical level because she is carrying a greater load than what her body should normally have.
Because you might undergo a C-section operation.
When the baby exceeds the ideal size and weight, another undesirable procedure could take place: Cesarean surgery. This is really a great hassle both financially and physically for the mother – something that has to be avoided and can be avoided.
While the exact number of having safe c-section procedures is not exactly stipulated by expert physicians, the current consensus is that it is not wise to have more than 3 of them. This is not good news for those who dream of having a large family. In addition to that, other complications could also sprout -- an infection of the womb’s lining, severe bleeding, heart attack, and pregnancy problems in the future.
Because you might acquire other types of diabetes later in life.
Although gestational diabetes is just a pregnancy thing, there is a great likelihood that a woman who has it would have type 2 diabetes later in life. Without stating the obvious, nobody wants to have the kind of life in which you need to ingest insulin because your body can’t produce enough of it, or having to regulate the production of it. There is no substitute for having a body that functions normally – it is the best property anybody can own. Having that kind of physiology is just plain priceless.
Because you might pass diabetes into your offspring.
Wealth and wisdom – these are the only supposed traits that you are meant to bestow upon your children. But what if there is a chance that you will bestow something upon them that are more than that albeit, something that’s horrible?
Diabetes.org, one of the most prominent authorities on the web about the subject declares that there is a 1:25 ratio of women under the age of 25 passing down their diabetic genes to their children. That figure could change to 1:100 once the woman approaches her late 20’s. Not really a big possibility, you might think. But are you willing to take that risk? Since you don’t want to be labeled as an unloving parent, you must avoid that possibility at all costs.
Because of the alarming mortality rate of diabetes in childbirth.
There is an estimated number of 5 to 20 times higher deaths that take place due to diabetes than what’s actually caused by other obstetric problems in general during childbirth. Since this is an established fact, pregnant mothers, as well as any expecting couple should take this knowledge with utmost importance.
A laboring mother could pass out during the very act of pushing the baby out of her, which could also pose some great risks to the overall process. If the baby gets prolonged outward pushing, he or she could have the risk of poisoning or suffocation. The danger is in both the mother and the child. Surely, such trouble should be neutralized in whatever remedy is available.
Gestational diabetes is an enemy thriving on stealth and subterfuge, but one that can really destroy the life you’ve been working so hard to build and enrich. Let’s battle it out with the best strategies we can find.
Informative but scary to know there is such kind of disease.. pity for the babies that will be affected by this disease