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February 16, 2001

Gestational Diabetes

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Question from New York, New York, USA:

I’m at 32 weeks pregnant and have borderline gestational diabetes which I am controlling with diet. My obstetrician told me that I should avoid ketones, but I do have ketones (from trace to large sometimes) from time to time even when my blood sugar is under control. I have the following questions:

Do pregnant women who do not have diabetes produce ketones when they omit meals or wait a long time between meals?
I understand ketones can have a detrimental effect on the baby’s brain development, and I’m very worried. How long do the ketones have to be present and how large the ketones have to be to cause this kind of harmful effects?
The baby seems to be more active when I’m hungry, and I’ll detect ketones afterwards. Does that mean the ketones are doing something to my baby?
Do you think, in my case, ketones are doing any harm to the baby?

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

Pregnant women frequently have ketones in their urine, particularly if they have not eaten for awhile. This is not the same as DKA [diabetic ketoacidosis] and should not have any significant effect on your baby.

OWJ