April 6, 2005
Gestational Diabetes
Question from Seattle, Washington, USA:
During my first pregnancy, my one hour glucose test was high normal. I gained 50 pounds during my pregnancy and my son was 10 pounds at birth (and three weeks late). I lost all the weight after I had the baby.
I’m 37 now and pregnant again. I told my new doctor that I was concerned about gestational diabetes because of the high normal readings and the size of my son at birth. So, we decided to do a glucose test at 17 weeks gestation. The result was 134 mg/dl [7.4 mmol/L], which again, is high normal. Again, I’m gaining a lot of weight. Normally, I’m not overweight and I exercise all the time. I do eat carbohydrates a lot, but I feel like I eat healthily, lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. I’m also mixed race, part American Indian, Caucasian and Filipino. What do you think?
Answer:
I would recommend that you repeat the glucose test at 24 to 28 weeks gestation. At the moment, you do not appear to have gestational diabetes. The explanation for the 10 pound baby could be that you make big babies or that going three weeks past your due date allowed the baby to grow more. You may want to request an ultrasound late in the pregnancy to get a handle on how big this next baby might be. It may help in deciding on letting you go past your due again.
OWJ
