Who Needs a Gestational Diabetes Meal Plan?

Statistics have shown that roughly five percent of pregnant women may develop gestational diabetes, a condition in which a woman who doesn’t suffer from diabetes, suddenly becomes diabetic during and usually in the second half of her pregnancy.

When something like this happens, blood sugar monitoring should be done regularly to avoid any complications that may arise during labor.

How Effective is a Gestational Diabetes Meal Plan?

When a woman develops mild gestational diabetes, it is important that a proper diabetic meal plan is implemented with the help of a professional nutritionist to help control blood sugar levels. If the diabetes is allowed to progress into a stronger condition, insulin therapy may need to be introduced to help lower blood sugar levels.

How do you Design a Great Gestational Diabetes Meal Plan?

There is tons of information on designing a diabetic meal plan, but you should always take care to make sure that you get a balanced combination of carbohydrates, protein, minerals, and vitamins.

Because it’s not only you that is being affected by Gestational diabetes, but also your unborn baby, you should really seek out professional help to make sure that you are both getting all of the nutrients you need, while keeping your blood sugar levels in check at the same time.

Gestational Diabetes Symptoms

A good majority of the time, there are no symptoms, or very mild. These can include:

Weight loss – even though you are eating more!
Blurred vision
Nausea and vomiting
Increased thirst and Urination
Increased infections, particularly of the bladder and vagina.
Fatigue
Raised blood sugar, which will generally stabilize after the birth

Causes of Gestational Diabetes.

If you are carrying extra weight prior to becoming pregnant
If you have a family history of Diabetes Type 2
If you fall into the category of ‘Pre-Diabetes’ which is raised Blood Sugar, but not high enough to be classed ‘Diabetic’ (Read More about Pre-Diabetes)
Women over the age of 25 are more at risk.
If you have previously given birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds.
If you have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
If you are a Pacific Islander, Hispanic, African American or American Indian.
You have given birth to a stillborn baby in the past.

A Sample Diabetes Meal Plan

If you are brainstorming for ideas for the meal plan, here are some tips:

Breakfast
Get yourself some starchy vegetables along with whole wheat bread, drink some milk to get a good intake of protein. If you want, you may also add a bagel spread with a teaspoon of jam.

Lunch
You can grab a sandwich made with whole wheat bread with two ounces of protein-rich meat, such as roasted turkey, lean roast beef, or fresh tuna. You can use a tablespoon of salad dressing or mayonnaise along with your sandwich for flavor. Finally, add a cup of nonfat yogurt or some milk to get your dairy requirement for this meal.

Dinner
You may want to get more protein and having some grilled chicken or salmon (approximately three ounces) would be a great start. Next, you’ll want to get your carbohydrate of choice, with suggestions of either a cup of pasta or large baked potato and to this add a cup of steamed asparagus or some tossed salad with low-fat salad dressing.

Lastly, for dessert, you can enjoy a cup of fresh apricots, melons, or other fruit.

Snacks!
If you feel hungry, you may want to get some snacks like whole wheat crackers or tortilla chips to help tide you over between meals. If you choose to go this route, just remember to keep the snacks small, so that your gestational diabetes meal plan is effective while at the same time enjoyable!

Controlling Gestational Diabetes

This article will describe standard signs and symptoms of gestational diabetes, how it is diagnosed and just how it’s handled. It is going to show how a gestational diabetic diet program is very important for controlling diabetes in conjunction with other treatments.

So how do we go about Controlling Gestational Diabetes?

Even the calmest of Mothers-to-be will become concerned if they are diagnosed with gestational diabetes. It’s a sad fact that more and more women are going to receive this worrying news as gestational diabetes is on the rise.

It’s important to know there are steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of developing gestational diabetes before even trying for a baby.

For pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes, there are many lifestyle and dietary measures that can be taken to help bring blood sugar levels under control, and these are often all that is needed.

Most pregnant women are screened for gestational diabetes between weeks 24 and 28 of their pregnancy with a glucose challenge test. This involves drinking a sugary drink before testing the blood to see how well the body manages to regulate the blood sugar levels.

When a pregnant woman is diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it means her blood sugar levels are too high. This is concerning, because it can have negative implications for the baby as well as the mother if not treated and brought under control.

Uncontrolled high blood sugar levels in pregnancy can cause babies to grow larger that usual and increase the chances of respiratory distress, bone fractures, nerve palsies, low blood sugar levels and early birth. For the pregnant mother there is a higher risk of placental trouble as well as a higher risk of perineal tearing or caesarean due to the large size of the baby.

The likelihood of these issues can be reduced if gestational diabetes is identified and blood sugar levels brought under control. It is possible to prevent or reduce the impact of gestational diabetes by maintaining a healthy weight, healthy diet and regular exercise. The Majority of women with gestational diabetes will find their blood sugar levels return to normal after giving birth.

Despite this, women who have had gestational diabetes are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Additionally, women who have had gestational diabetes during pregnancy face a 35 to 50 per cent chance that it will return in future pregnancies.

What Causes Gestational Diabetes?

During pregnancy, the placenta is responsible for providing nourishment to the baby from the mother. Hormones released by the placenta cause a slight insulin resistant state in the mother as a normal part of pregnancy. As insulin is important for moving sugars into the cells, it plays an integral roll in maintaining steady blood sugar levels.

Insulin resistance impairs the ability of insulin to perform its job effectively, although slight insulin resistance during pregnancy is normal and allows more sugar and nutrients to be available for the baby. Problems develop if these sugar levels become too high. A pregnant woman can also get gestational diabetes if her pancreas is simply not making enough insulin to keep blood sugar levels stable.

Pregnant women can have gestational diabetes without displaying any physical symptoms, which is why it is so important to be tested during pregnancy. However, some women may display symptoms, particularly if they display another form of diabetes they were not previously aware of. These symptoms may include:

Increased thirst
Increased urination
Increased hunger
Blurred vision.

Many pregnant women, experience some of these symptoms as a normal part of pregnancy, so speak to your doctor if you have any concerns.

Treatment for Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes can be treated with dietary and lifestyle changes and these can prevent the disease recurring in future pregnancies, potentially warding off type 2 diabetes in the future. If you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, you will usually be closely monitored by your doctor and will need to check your blood sugar levels with a machine at home.

Exercise

Regular exercise before and during pregnancy is a great way to help keep maternal blood sugar under control. Pregnant women can safely do as much exercise as they feel comfortable with. Studies show that as little as 15 minutes 3 times per week can be beneficial, although 30 minutes of daily exercise is recommended when there are no other pregnancy complications.

Walking is excellent and can be enjoyed right up until the last few days. Swimming during pregnancy is wonderful as it takes weight off the joints and back and brings welcome relief in later pregnancy. Cycling on a stationary bike is also considered very safe. Avoid exercising during the mid-day heat and pushing yourself beyond your existing fitness / stamina levels.

Diet

A healthy diet is essential in pregnant women diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Reducing carbohydrates to 40 or 45per cent of your diet while making sure any carbohydrates have a low glycaemic index (GI) and low glycaemic load is crucial.

There’s are variety of smartphone apps that can give you a very accurate indication of your carbohydrate intake day by day. Obtaining a book outlining a low-GI diet will provide you with tables listing the glycaemic index and load of most foods.

As well as these changes, ensuring high dietary fibre levels is also very important. Hence a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, lean meat, eggs, nuts and seeds healthy fish and pure water is ideal.

Lifestyle

Stress increases hormones that encourage the release of sugar into the blood stream. Ancient cultures have long understood the need for pregnant women to be relaxed and happy and in our busy western society, pregnant women need to ensure they actively work at reducing stress. Meditation, prenatal yoga, exercise and /or counselling can help reduce stress levels.

Sleep helps to reset hunger hormones, which will encourage healthy food choices. Pregnant women will often experience disrupted sleep so, were possible, try to get to bed that little bit earlier or nap through the day.

Prevention

Ideally, women planning to get pregnant should seek good preconception care in order to avoid gestational diabetes altogether. Women who have had gestational diabetes in prior pregnancies can draw motivation from the knowledge that a good diet, regular exercise and weight normalization can help avoid complications from gestational diabetes in future pregnancies.

Following these healthy diet and lifestyle guidelines will put women in a better position to shine through motherhood and raise healthy children.