March 28, 2001
Gestational Diabetes
Question from Reading, Pennsylvania, USA:
I am 30 years old and am 36 weeks pregnant with my third child. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes about a month ago and have been following a diet. My numbers have been the following:
fasting below 80 mg/dl [4.4 mmol/L]
one-hour after breakfast, most are below 120 mg/dl [6.7 mmol/L] (one or two per week go up to 128-140 mg/dl [7.1-7.8 mmol/L]
one-hour after lunch, most are below 120 mg/dl [6.7 mmol/L] (two or three per week up to 129 mg/dl [7.2 mmol/L])
one-hour after dinner, most are below 130 mg/dl [mmol/L] (two or three per week between 130-147 mg/dl [mmol/L])
My high risk doctor has recommended that I go on 4 units of Humalog insulin before dinner., but my regular obstetrician says that I really don’t need it, and it is up to me. At this stage of my pregnancy, is this necessary? Will it have any benefits to the baby? I don’t know what to do.
Answer:
Your glucose values are mildly elevated. This can result in a large baby. The insulin might help and probably will not cause problems at such a low dose. My approach is to treat if there are repeated values exceeding the threshold.
OWJ
