But sometimes, for some pregnant women, the joy of pregnancy can be overshadowed by the possibility of developing a form of diabetes called gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).
The condition of a woman who normally do not have high levels of glucose in the blood but when she gets pregnant the levels increase is called gestational diabetes. This rare disease occurs in about 5 percent of pregnant women worldwide.
A pregnant woman is given a diet plan for gestational diabetes to maintain their blood sugar under control. Sugar levels in the blood must be verified in order to avoid any complications during childbirth. High levels of glucose are dangerous for a pregnant woman and her fetus.
Insulin is a hormone that the body produces in order to normalize the diabetes blood sugar levels. When a person becomes diabetic, this means that the body does not react or does not produce the insulin it needs. Because the cells can not convert blood sugar into energy.
Gestational diabetes is a mild form of diabetes. It can be easily controlled with proper diet and moderate. In rare cases, you need to inject insulin to lower blood sugar levels in the blood.
Doctors recommend a diet plan for gestational diabetes special so it will not come to the point where you have to inject insulin to lower blood sugar. The diet plan for gestational diabetes will consists of foods that can be eaten without losing vitamins and nutrients.
Here is a sample diet plan for gestational diabetes that you can use every day.
Breakfast:
When morning comes the sugar level in the blood is usually low. A pregnant woman should start with a small high protein meal. A whole wheat toast and a glass of milk or light yogurt.
Snack
Raw vegetables with lemon. Served with small portions of fruit or cottage cheese and whole wheat crackers.
Lunch
Vegetable salad or whole grain pasta.
Picnic
Fruit juice, along with a whole grain bagel with some cheese
Dinner
Chicken breast with a vegetable salad. This could be combined with sugar cookies
Midnight Snack
An apple or a whole grain muffin
Gestational diabetes begins during the second and third trimester of pregnancy and continues until the baby is born. It is important to treat gestational diabetes during pregnancy to avoid complications for mother and baby.
Sugar levels for pregnant women:
If fasted are: 68.4 to 93.6 mg / dL (3.8 to 5.2 mmol / L)
1 hour after eating a meal is: 99-139 mg / dl (5.5 to 7.7 mmol / L)
2 hours after eating a meal is: 90 to 119 mg / dl (5.0 to 6.6 mmol / L)
A1C levels are: 6.0% or less
Fasting is usually around 8-10 hours at night since the last meal before breakfast afternoon until the next morning.
A1C test provides an average reading of the levels of blood glucose during the previous 120 days, and measures the percentage of haemoglobin molecules that have glucose attached to them. Haemoglobin accounts for about 35 percent of blood components.