diabetes testing

Gestational Diabetes Testing and Pregnancy

If you are pregnant, you may be suggested to undergo gestational diabetes testing. In most of the cases, it is nothing but a routine health check-up, considered as an integral part of prenatal care. Gestational diabetes testing is done typically during 24th through 28th weeks of pregnancy. Although it is a common experience for all women to experience some level of impaired glucose intolerance during pregnancy as a result of hormonal imbalance, doctor may suggest you to undergo for diabetes testing as early as first prenatal visit if you have already developed risk factors of diabetes.

Risk Factors

Many pregnant women with gestational diabetes lack any apparent symptoms, but for others, doctors generally recommend early diabetes testing after noticing few significant symptoms such as being overweight or obese, family history with type 2 diabetes, over 25 years, multiple conception, personal history of gestational diabetes during earlier pregnancy and belonging to specific ethnic group like American Indian, Alaska native, Asian, African American, etc.

Complications

If left untreated, gestational diabetes may lead to a wide array of complications for both the mother and the child. These may include macrosomia, a condition characterized by oversized baby; birth defects; increased risk for miscarriage; stillbirth, etc. In addition, the baby may develop a condition during which the blood glucose level of the baby falls down very rapidly following birth. The condition is referred to as hyperinsulinemia.

Essentially there are two types of gestational diabetes testing – (1) oral glucose tolerance test and (2) three hour glucose tolerance test.

The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test

This diabetes testing is also referred to as glucose challenge screening. This diabetes testing belongs to the routine tests during pregnancy. Typically it is done during 24th to 28th weeks of pregnancy, or earlier only when you are marked with any risk factors for developing diabetic condition. During the test, you need to consume glucola, a drink consisting of 50g of glucose. The doctors take blood sample from your body after one hour to test the degree of glucose processing in your body.

The Three Hour Glucose Tolerance Test

This diabetes testing is done to either confirm the presence of diabetic condition or to rule out the possibility. This test is only done if you have obtained an unusual reading on the one hour test. For this test to be done, you need to fast for 10 to 14 hours prior to the test. Similar to oral glucose tolerance test, you need to consume drink rich in glucose. But the drink consists of 100g of glucose instead of 50g of glucose. Your blood sample is collected before you consume the drink. This is known as fasting glucose level. Additionally, blood sample is again collected following one, two and three hours gap.