Gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that starts during pregnancy. It means your body doesn’t use the sugar (glucose) in your blood as well as it should. This makes the level of sugar in your blood higher than normal.

Every year, up to 10% of pregnancies in the United States are affected by gestational diabetes. Managing your blood sugar can help make sure that you have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Usually gestational diabetes goes away after the baby is born.

A glucose tolerance test is a way to screen for gestational diabetes:

• If your test result is negative, you don’t need to do anything else.
• If your test result is positive, your doctor will refer you to a dietitian in our clinic.

Meeting with our dietitian

Our dietitian will teach you about diet and how to keep your blood sugar stable:

• Your first appointment takes about 90 minutes and may be in a group setting with a few other women. You’ll learn about gestational diabetes and how to care for yourself and your baby during pregnancy.
• Your second appointment will be one week later with a dietitian.
• Depending on your situation, follow-up appointments may be needed.
• After your baby is born, check your blood sugar once a week. Follow up with the dietitian in 12 weeks.