How to treat gestational diabetes?

Written by Liu Wen Li

Obstetrics

Updated on December 08, 2024

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The treatment principle for gestational diabetes is to control blood sugar and then ensure the normal development of the child. There are many methods to control blood sugar. First, it involves diet management guided by a doctor, adjusting the diet's structure and quantity, followed by post-meal exercise. If after a week of adjusted diet and post-meal exercise, blood sugar levels still do not meet the standards, insulin injections can be used to keep the pregnant woman's blood sugar within the prescribed range. This can help reduce the impact of diabetes on the fetus and the pregnant woman.

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Written by Zhang Yin Xing

Obstetrics

1min 49sec

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How to control gestational diabetes

For diabetes during pregnancy, it is important to manage the condition in pregnant women. Initially, for blood sugar control during pregnancy, we recommend that the blood sugar levels before meals and two hours after meals be less than or equal to 5.3 mmol/L and 6.7 mmol/L, respectively, and nighttime blood sugar levels should not be lower than 3.3 mmol/L. For patients with diabetes complicated by pregnancy, the blood sugar control during pregnancy should meet the following targets: early pregnancy blood sugar control does not need to be overly strict to prevent hypoglycemia. Blood sugar levels before meals and during the night, as well as fasting blood sugar, should be controlled between 3.3 to 5.6 mmol/L, and post-meal peak blood sugar levels should be between 5.6 to 7.1 mmol/L. For both diabetes during pregnancy and diabetes complicated by pregnancy, if blood sugar levels cannot meet the above standards through diet and exercise management, insulin or oral hypoglycemic drugs should be used for further blood sugar control. Pregnancy is a special physiological period, and blood sugar control in diabetic pregnant women must not only be within the normal range but also ensure reasonable nutrient intake for the mother and fetus, reducing the occurrence of maternal and fetal complications. Most patients with gestational diabetes can control their blood sugar satisfactorily through reasonable dietary control and appropriate exercise therapy. The total daily nutrient intake should be determined based on the weight before pregnancy and the rate of weight gain during pregnancy.

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Written by Zhang Hui

Obstetrics and Gynecology

36sec

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Should pregnant women with gestational diabetes drink whole milk or skim milk?

If a pregnant woman has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, she needs to be very careful about her diet. Whether to drink full-fat or skim milk during pregnancy depends on the individual's caloric needs. Considering the different amounts of calories produced by fats and proteins, skim milk generally has lower calories. Therefore, a pregnant woman with gestational diabetes can drink skim milk, but she should also be cautious about the total amount of milk consumed. She should not drink too much at once or consume milk excessively, because both full-fat and skim milk can lead to a significant increase in blood sugar levels.

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Written by Chen Xie

Endocrinology

1min 19sec

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Can you eat pumpkin with gestational diabetes?

The overall principle of dietary control for patients with gestational diabetes is to manage total calorie intake and to eat smaller, more frequent meals. Consuming five to six meals a day can help stabilize blood sugar levels and reduce the occurrence of hypoglycemia. Therefore, for patients with gestational diabetes, foods that can rapidly increase blood sugar levels, such as those high in sugar, starch, and fat, should be consumed less frequently, as these foods can easily be converted into glucose, leading to an increase in blood sugar levels. Pumpkin, which is high in carbohydrates, should also be eaten in moderation. However, this does not mean that pumpkin cannot be eaten at all. When consuming pumpkin, it should be treated as a staple food. After eating pumpkin, the amount of other staple foods in that meal should be reduced. This helps in maintaining good blood sugar control. Therefore, patients with gestational diabetes can still eat pumpkin, but it should not be treated as a vegetable. Instead, it should be considered like rice, and the amount of rice should be reduced when pumpkin is consumed.

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Written by Luo Han Ying

Endocrinology

56sec

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Can you drink yogurt if you have gestational diabetes?

Regarding yogurt, there are two scenarios. Currently, you can make yogurt at home with a yogurt maker. If it's homemade yogurt and you haven't added sugar, it is okay to eat because it contains probiotics and nutritious ingredients, which are actually beneficial for pregnant women. However, the yogurt sold in stores contains very high sugar levels because anyone who has made yogurt would know that unsweetened yogurt is very sour. The kind sold in stores tastes that way because a large amount of sugar is added, not to mention various additives. This is very unfavorable for blood sugar control in patients with gestational diabetes. Therefore, we recommend that pregnant women should drink less or even avoid commercial yogurt. In fact, we can obtain these nutrients by drinking regular milk, like pure milk.

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Written by Tang Zhuo

Endocrinology

58sec

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Gestational diabetes standard values

Standards for gestational diabetes, so what is gestational diabetes? It refers to diabetes that either develops during pregnancy or is first detected at this stage, presenting varying degrees of hyperglycemia, including previously unrecognized glucose intolerance or diabetes prior to pregnancy. Pregnancies in known diabetic patients are not included in this category, and may also be referred to as diabetes complicating pregnancy. So, how is gestational diabetes diagnosed? We can conduct a 75g anhydrous glucose tolerance test, where a fasting blood glucose greater than or equal to 5.1 mmol/L, and blood glucose greater than 10 mmol/L one hour after, meets the criteria to diagnose gestational diabetes.