Approved by the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Most women who develop diabetes during pregnancy go on to have a healthy baby. Dietary changes and exercise may be enough to keep blood sugar glucose levels under control, though sometimes you may also need to take medication. But untreated gestational diabetes can cause serious problems. If blood sugar levels remain elevated, too much glucose ends up in the baby’s blood. When that happens, the baby’s pancreas needs to produce more insulin to process the extra sugar. Too much blood sugar and insulin can make a baby put on extra weight, which is stored as fat. This can make the baby grow very large macrosomia. Also, high blood sugar levels during pregnancy and labor increase the risk of a baby developing low blood sugar hypoglycemia after delivery.
Diabetes is a condition in which the body can’t make enough insulin, or can’t use insulin normally. Insulin is a hormone. This leads to high blood sugar hyperglycemia. High blood sugar can cause problems all over the body. It can damage blood vessels and nerves. It can harm the eyes, kidneys, and heart. In early pregnancy, high blood sugar can lead to birth defects in a growing baby. Type 1 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder.
Please sign in or sign up for a March of Dimes account to proceed. If untreated, gestational diabetes can cause problems for your baby, like premature birth and stillbirth. Talk to your health care provider about what you can do to reduce your risk for gestational diabetes and help prevent diabetes in the future. Gestational diabetes also called gestational diabetes mellitus or GDM is a kind of diabetes that some women get during pregnancy. When you eat, your body breaks down sugar and starches from food into glucose to use for energy. Your pancreas an organ behind your stomach makes a hormone called insulin that helps your body keep the right amount of glucose in your blood. This can cause serious health problems, like heart disease, kidney failure and blindness.