How to eat after giving birth for gestational diabetes

Written by Luo Han Ying
Endocrinology
Updated on May 12, 2025
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Patients with gestational diabetes need to be careful with their diet even after giving birth, during the period known in Chinese tradition as "sitting the month." During this time, it is customary for Chinese women to consume large amounts of animal protein, including soups that are believed to help with milk production. However, patients with gestational diabetes should still control their intake, opting for low-fat and low-salt options. Traditional dishes like pig's trotters stewed with soybeans, which are high in fat, are not recommended for patients, as their effectiveness in promoting milk production is minimal. After childbirth, patients can instead focus on consuming high-quality proteins such as lean meats and milk, which are encouraged.

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Written by Luo Han Ying
Endocrinology
1min home-news-image

Are there many people with gestational diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is increasingly common now as living standards improve, and there is more attention on pregnant women from their families. Often, out of fear of malnutrition during pregnancy, there is a tendency to over-nourish and overeat, leading to significant weight gain around the 24th to 26th weeks of pregnancy. Upon examination, it is discovered that their blood sugar levels are elevated, indicating gestational diabetes. Although gestational diabetes is becoming more widespread, the blood sugar levels are usually not extremely high. Therefore, such patients can often manage their condition through diet control and encouraging appropriate exercise for pregnant women. Thus, pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes should not be overly stressed psychologically.

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Written by Xu Dong Dong
Endocrinology
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What to eat for breakfast with gestational diabetes

Patients with gestational diabetes are encouraged to have a balanced diet for breakfast, ensuring sufficient nutrient intake while choosing foods with a low glycemic index. For example, breakfast can include an egg, half a corn cob, a small meat bun, and a cup of milk. About two hours after breakfast, a snack can be added, selecting fruits with a low glycemic index such as strawberries, cherries, plums, apricots, apples, peaches, oranges, and grapefruits. This means that breakfast and the snack should include carbohydrates, vitamins, and proteins. Additionally, avoid eating porridge for breakfast as it has a high glycemic index, which can significantly raise blood sugar levels after the meal. Also, avoid overly greasy foods as they too can cause an increase in blood sugar.

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Written by Li Lang Bo
Endocrinology
1min 1sec home-news-image

How to self-test for gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes refers to conditions where there was no diabetes before pregnancy, and during the course of the pregnancy, specifically between the 24th to 28th weeks, a standard glucose tolerance test is conducted to screen for glucose metabolism. The specific procedure involves not eating after 8 p.m. the night before, though drinking water is allowed, followed by fasting for more than ten hours. The first blood sample is taken on an empty stomach. Then, 75 grams of anhydrous glucose, as prescribed by the doctor, is dissolved in 250 to 350 milliliters of water and consumed within 3 to 5 minutes. Starting from the first sip of this glucose solution, blood samples are taken again one hour and two hours later. The results from these three blood samples are used to determine the possibility of gestational diabetes.

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Written by Chen Xie
Endocrinology
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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 Chen Xie
Endocrinology
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Do you need insulin for gestational diabetes?

Gestational diabetes refers to the elevated blood glucose levels found during pregnancy. For patients diagnosed with gestational diabetes, we first need to control diet and exercise to manage blood sugar levels, maintaining fasting blood glucose between 4.0-5.3 mmol/L and postprandial (two hours after meals) blood glucose between 4.4-6.7 mmol/L. If blood sugar control can be achieved through diet and exercise, insulin treatment is not required. However, if blood sugar levels still do not meet the standards through diet and exercise, exceeding the figures mentioned earlier, insulin treatment is necessary. For patients receiving insulin treatment, it poses no harm to either the fetus or the mother. In fact, when blood sugar is well-controlled, it can actually reduce the risks associated with gestational diabetes.