Know the risks of childbirth in gestational diabetes

Pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes are at risk of premature delivery, induction of delivery and even of losing the baby. However, these risks can be reduced by keeping the blood sugar level properly controlled throughout pregnancy.

Pregnant women who keep their blood sugar under control and who do not have babies weighing more than 4 kg can wait until 38 weeks of gestation for spontaneous labor to begin and can have a normal delivery, if this is their wish. But if it is proven that the baby has more than 4 kg, the doctor may suggest a cesarean or induction of labor at 38 weeks.

The risks of childbirth in gestational diabetes can be:

Risks for the mother	Risks for the baby
Very long normal delivery due to little uterine contractility	Born before the due date due to rupture of the amniotic sac before 38 weeks of gestation
Having to induce labor with medications to initiate or accelerate normal delivery	Decreased oxygenation during delivery and possibility of hypoglycemia soon after birth
Laceration of the perineum during normal delivery due to the size of the baby	Abortion at any time of pregnancy or death shortly after delivery
Eclampsia, urinary tract infection and pyelonephritis	Being born with more than 4 kg, which increases the risk of developing diabetes in the future and of suffering some alteration in the shoulder or fracture of the clavicle during normal delivery

To reduce the risks of gestational diabetes it is important to keep blood glucose under control, checking capillary blood glucose daily, eating properly and exercising, such as walking, 3 times a week.

Watch the video to learn how eating can lower the risks of gestational diabetes:

Preferably delivery should be performed in the morning, for a better control of blood glucose, which should be maintained at around 100 mg% or less, before and during delivery to prevent neonatal hypoglycemia. In some cases, the doctor may indicate the use of insulin and serum through the vein, moments before and during delivery.

How is the postpartum of gestational diabetes

Right after delivery, blood glucose should be measured every 2 to 4 hours to prevent hypoglycemia and ketoacidosis, which are common in this period but normally blood glucose normalizes in the postpartum period, although there is a risk that the pregnant woman will develop type 2 diabetes in about 10 years if you do not have adequate food

Before hospital discharge, the mother's blood glucose should be measured to see if it has normalized. Some women need to continue taking oral antidiabetics after delivery, and metformin should not be used in breastfeeding because it passes into breast milk. Therefore, the doctor may indicate Nateglinide, pioglitazone or rosiglitazone, for example.

The glucose intolerance test should be performed 6 to 8 weeks after delivery to verify that blood glucose remains normal. Breastfeeding should be encouraged because it is essential for the baby and because it helps with weight loss in the postpartum period, helps with insulin regulation and in the disappearance of gestational diabetes.

When blood glucose is controlled at the time of delivery and remains so, the healing of cesarean section and episiotomy occurs in the same way as in women who do not have gestational diabetes, but it can take longer if blood glucose remains altered after delivery.