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How does diagnosis as a gestational diabetic affect your pregnancy and birth?
The standard GD diet is a good one; adequate calories, limit simple sugars, moderate fat intake, eat whole grains and plenty of fruits and vegetables and eat smaller meals more frequently. Also beneficial is the advice to engage in moderate, regular exercise. If that was all that happened, identification as a gestational diabetic would be a good thing. Some tracking of blood sugars to make sure they aren’t drifting into the true diabetic range is probably also a good thing, as is identifying the one in a thousand women who has or will develop glucose values in that range. However, most women will find themselves caught up in frequent doctor visits, multiple daily blood tests, restrictive diets, possibly insulin injections, repeated fetal surveillance tests and a considerable chance of a labor induction or cesarean section.
