How Diabetes Affects You & Your Baby
If you?ve wondered about whether you may be at risk for diabetes, pregnancy can be a crystal ball, allowing you to see what may be in your future.
Understanding Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes?the most common form of diabetes?occurs when your body can?t properly manage blood sugar. Your body uses the hormone insulin to move sugars (glucose) from your bloodstream into your cells, where it?s used for energy. Insulin acts like a key, unlocking cellular walls to let sugar inside.
If your body doesn?t produce enough insulin, or if you cells can?t use insulin efficiently (called insulin resistance), you?ll be left with too much blood sugar circulating in your body. Although many women with type 2 diabetes develop it after they?ve had their children, some develop it before they?re done with childbearing. If you have type 2 diabetes before pregnancy, talk to your health care provider before you?re pregnant to be sure your blood sugars are in good control. High blood sugars in the first 2 months of pregnancy put your baby at an increased risk for birth defects. Be sure any medications you may take will be safe during pregnancy. Use a reliable form of contraception until you have good blood sugar control.
If you need insulin during pregnancy, you?re more likely to develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years.
Effects of Gestational Diabetes
When diabetes develops during pregnancy (usually diagnosed in the last 3 months) it?s called gestational diabetes. If you have gestational diabetes, your b...
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