There is nothing more exciting than bringing a new baby into the world, but pregnancy comes with its own woes. One problem that many women have is gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes happens when your blood sugar cannot be controlled without intervention. A lot of women ask, does gestational diabetes go away?
It can be daunting when you are diagnosed with this, but there is good news! Usually, gestational diabetes goes away immediately after delivery.
While your blood sugar levels may go through a period of highs and lows immediately after giving birth, it should return back to normal within a few weeks.
Depending on the woman, gestational diabetes can be different for everyone. While some women may be able to regulate their blood sugar levels easily, others may have more difficulty.
Women who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes have a higher chance of being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes later in life, so it’s especially important to keep your gestational diabetes under control. If you follow the tips below, you could prevent yourself from having to take medication or getting diagnosed with type 2 diabetes later on.
Gestational Diabetes Diet
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, your health practitioner will talk to you about your diet. It’s important to eat a healthy diet while you are pregnant that is full of the vitamins and minerals that your body and baby need.
While pregnancy can be exhausting, you should make an effort to keep healthy foods surrounding you.
The diet that most health practitioners recommend is rich in protein and low in carbohydrates. You should avoid foods that are very sugary and limit starchy and carbohydrate-rich foods.
Focusing on lean protein, like chicken and fish, paired with unsaturated fats, like nuts and avocados, will keep your blood sugar levels down and your diabetes regulated.
Keeping healthy food in your home can help control gestational diabetes.
An example diabetes breakfast could be whole-grain toast with avocado and an egg. Snacks could include almonds with cubed cheese or apples with peanut butter.
Lunches should focus on protein and whole grains, like a peanut butter sandwich or chicken salad. One dinner that is really good for blood sugar levels is salmon and whole grain pasta with a vegetable based sauce.
Getting Proper Exercise
One of the most important things you can do for your gestational diabetes is exercise. Exercising during pregnancy keeps both mom and baby healthy. Those who exercise during pregnancy have healthier deliveries, babies, and postpartum recoveries.
So while every pregnant woman should exercise, it’s especially important for those with gestational diabetes to exercise. Regular exercise helps regulate your body’s blood sugar levels, and can lead to a better managed diabetes.
Sometimes, women feel sick during pregnancy and exercise is the last thing on their mind. While this is understandable, exercise is extremely important.
It keeps your body healthy, but it could also prevent you from having to take medication during pregnancy to control your blood sugar levels.
Some women will need to take a daily pill or shot of insulin each time they eat. This is okay to do for mother and baby, but it’s always best to try diet and exercise changes first to see if it makes things better.
Does Gestational Diabetes Go Away
Anywhere from 2-10% of women get diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy, so it is a lot more common than you think.
Most women get diagnosed sometime in their late second or early third trimester, so it’s not something you have to deal with your whole pregnancy. And thankfully, it goes away most of the time after delivery.
For those who kept their blood sugar levels controlled with diet and exercise, the chance of gestational diabetes going away after delivery is very high. Even those who have good control over their blood sugar numbers with medication often don’t have a problem with gestational diabetes following the birth of their baby.
So while it might be overwhelming to get the gestational diabetes diagnosis, rest easy knowing that it will most likely be a temporary thing.
There is the occasional case of gestational diabetes that does not go away but turns into a different kind of diabetes. This is most common when there is a family history of diabetes.
Most of the time, gestational diabetes will be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes when it lasts beyond pregnancy. Your doctor will check your blood sugar levels in the first few weeks after having a baby to determine whether or not it went away.
Where to Go from Here
Does gestational diabetes go away? The short answer is, yes. Gestational diabetes isn’t a huge cause for concern, and you can control it with diet and exercise. Thanks for stopping by.
Don’t forget to comment or ask any questions you might have in the comments below!
