Today Owen and I spent three hours at the hospital, seeing the midwives and the doctor, having blood tests and the glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes.  This was supposed to be a quick visit – just having to wait an hour for the glucose test and we were outa there.  No such luck unfortunately…

My blood test result was 8.4.  They expect a typical pregnancy reading to be anywhere between 3.5 to 8.  Lucky for me, just being over the norm means more testing in a weeks’ time!  Can’t you tell I’m excited…

Fingers crossed that I haven’t developed gestational diabetes this time!  Here’s a little bit about it from www.birthnet.com.au:

About 90% of women who have diabetes during their pregnancy have ‘gestational diabetes’. This means that the pregnancy has caused the diabetes condition. Gestational diabetes normally develops around 20 to 24 weeks of the pregnancy. The woman’s insulin production then usually returns to normal, once the placenta is delivered after the birth (with blood sugar levels often returning to normal within 24 hours of the baby being born). Women with gestational diabetes are more likely to have the condition again with a subsequent pregnancy, and are at an increased risk of developing diabetes later in their life.

Babies of diabetic women are not born with diabetes. They may be at a slightly increased risk of developing diabetes later in their life, due to genetic inheritance.

Most women with gestational diabetes can manage their condition with diet modification. A few women will require insulin, if their diet alone does not keep the blood sugar levels within normal levels. The main health risk for women with uncontrolled gestational diabetes is producing an abnormally large baby (over 4.5 kg or about 10lb). This is called ‘fetal macrosomia’ or ‘large for gestational age’ (LGA).

Having a larger than normal baby can increase the chances of:

	The woman needing induction of her labour, forceps or a Caesarean.
	Injury to the baby due to shoulder dystocia at birth.
	The baby having a low blood sugar (or ‘hypoglycaemia’) soon after the birth, and requiring care in the intensive care nursery.
	The baby developing breathing problems, because their lungs take longer to mature.

NOTE: If the woman’s blood sugars are maintained within normal limits, these risks can be reduced to be comparable with women without gestational diabetes.

Some caregivers recommend inducing the labour (or elective Caesarean) at 38 weeks of the pregnancy, to reduce the incidence of a large for gestational age baby. Induction may be a viable option if the woman’s cervix is ripe (or favourable), therefore more likely to dilate in labour. This increases the chances of the induction being successful, and decreasing the chances that a caesarean will be needed. However, the baby’s lungs may not be mature enough to avoid breathing difficulties at birth. There are also increased health risks for the woman if a Caesarean is performed electively.

Other than that, all is well with me and squirt :o)  And unbelievably Owen behaved himself the whole time we had to wait today!