Question from St. Louis, Missouri, USA:

I am a 35 year old in my 33rd week of pregnancy who was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and started my new food regimen about three weeks ago. My numbers are very good at this point, so I do not think I will require insulin, but I have lost five pounds since starting the new diet, and I am concerned that I shouldn’t be losing weight. I’m also concerned about the size of the baby.

I had an ultrasound this week, and baby is 4 pounds 12 ounces which is somewhere around the 45th percentile for weight. I am holding at a weight gain of 16 pounds for the pregnancy and was about 15 pounds overweight when I started the pregnancy. My first child weighed 8 pounds 8 ounces at term. Do I need to worry about my weight loss during this period of gestational diabetes?