Gestational Diabetes Symptoms
Gestational diabetes is a somewhat common complication during pregnancy. Essentially, this condition is an increased level of blood sugar that is manifested only during the pregnancy term. Usually, blood-sugar levels return to normal after the birth of the child. However, gestational diabetes symptoms, if detected, should be monitored and treated just as type 2 diabetes would be.
Actually, “gestational diabetes symptoms” is somewhat of a misnomer. There are no symptoms, per se, of gestational diabetes. Only a blood test will confirm an increase in blood sugar levels. There are, though, a number of indicators of gestational diabetes, including:
• fatigue
• blurred vision
• increased frequency of urination
• increased thirst
• an increased frequency of vaginal, bladder and skin infections, often including a dark rash at the back of the neck, and in folds of the skin
• nausea and vomiting
These gestational diabetes symptoms, or indicators, are not life-threatening, and are, in virtually all cases, very mild. If untreated, however, gestational diabetes can lead to increased health risks for the infant, including type 1 diabetes, obesity, even miscarriage and premature death. The mother may also experience lifelong complications resulting from untreated gestational diabetes, including obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
Risk factors that ought to be considered, in addition to an awareness of gestational diabetes symptoms, are:
• a family history of diabetes
• the mother is over 25
• the birth of a previous baby weighing more than nine pounds at birth
• frequent infections
• a history of unexplained newborn deaths or miscarriages
• obesity
• the ancestry of the mother, especially if she is of African or Hispanic descent
Additional risks include polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal imbalance causing problems with ovulation, or the mother is taking corticosteroid medications which are, basically synthetic hormones. Each of these additional risk factors leads to increased blood sugar levels.