Diabetes During Pregnancy: Will My Baby Be Diabetic?

Gestational diabetes is a rather common condition that women experience while pregnant. In most cases, babies born to women who had gestational diabetes during their pregnancy are perfectly fine. Many mothers, still, are very concerned about the risk of their child have birth defects or the diabetes being transferred to them during pregnancy. There are some simple ways that expectant mothers can care for their unborn child’s health, not to mention their own, while pregnant that greatly reduce the chances that their condition will cause problems for the child.

 

If you have gestational diabetes and want to protect your child from possible harm, the best thing you can do is watch your diet and get regular exercise. Staying reasonably active, keeping your blood sugar at healthy levels, and maintaining a healthy weight are all ways you can prevent complications. This is important not just during the pregnancy, but also for several weeks afterwards. In addition, you will be at a higher risk for diabetes if you become pregnant again. Be sure to speak to your doctor about how to monitor and control your blood sugar.

 

The good news is that gestational diabetes is not passed on to children at birth. Despite your diabetes during pregnancy, you baby will not necessarily be diabetic. They will, however, be at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes later in life. And other birth defects and conditions could be brought on as a result of a mother’s untreated diabetes, including jaundice, hypoglycemia, and respiratory distress syndrome.

 

Women should get regular checkups and attentively care for their own health during pregnancy, especially if they have gestational diabetes. Also, from a young age and throughout life, their children should eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise in order to reduce their risk of developing diabetes.