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Glucose Screen
Between 2 and 5 percent of expectant mothers develop gestational diabetes, a high-blood sugar disease, making it one of the most common health problems during pregnancy. The condition rarely causes any symptoms, so testing is the only way to find out if you have it.
Women should be screened for gestational diabetes while they are pregnant. Screening typically involves looking at a patient's history and clinical risk factors, then by laboratory screening.Oral Glucose Tolerance Test
Doctors typically recommend women take this test between weeks 24 and 28 of your pregnancy. For women who have had gestational diabetes before or if the risk factors point toward it, your doctor may recommend you have it even before the 13th week.
The test involves drinking a very sweet liquid, which contains 50 grams of glucose. Unfortunately, you have to choke down the sugary liquid within five minutes. The sugar enters the blood quickly, causing your blood glucose level to rise in a matter of 30-60 minutes. A blood test measures the degree to which your body metabolizes the glucose.
If the results indicate that you are having trouble metabolizing the sugar, your doctor could recommend you take a diagnostic test that requires you to fast. In the second test, called the 100-gram oral glucose tolerance test, a healthcare provider will test your blood glucose level four times in a three-hour period. If two of the four tests are abnormal, you are considered to have gestational diabetes.
What If I'm Diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes?
Your doctor will come up with a plan to manage your condition. The plan typically will include modification of your diet, increasing your exercise, and monitoring your blood sugar. It should last only as long as your pregnancy, though a small number of women develop diabetes during pregnancy and must live with it after delivery. You will have to take another glucose test, likely around six weeks after giving birth.
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