Diabetes Is a Risk in Pregnancy That Carries Risks Beyond

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Staying on Track

The treatment goal, as Ms. Bloustein was told, is to maintain a normal blood sugar level, and to keep the level as even as possible throughout the day.

The woman should follow a sensible meal plan consisting of three small, well-spaced meals and up to three snacks each day, and limit sweets and refined starches. She must know when and how much carbohydrate-rich food to consume, and her diet should include fiber-rich vegetables, fruits, dried beans and peas, and whole grains.

Regular physical exercise is also important. Daily walking and swimming are especially good in pregnancy.

If such self-help measures do not normalize blood sugar, the woman may also require insulin, which she can inject herself. In some cases, an oral medication, metformin, may be prescribed with or without insulin.

To be sure blood sugar levels stay on target, a woman should test herself via a finger prick and blood glucose monitor at regular times: when she wakes up, before meals, and an hour or two after meals. According to the National Institutes of Health, desirable blood sugar targets are 95 or less upon awakening, 140 or less an hour after meals, and 120 or less two hours after meals.

In 6 to 12 weeks after giving birth, a woman who has had gestational diabetes should be retested. And she should keep her own — and her child’s — weight down and be tested periodically for signs of diabetes as she ages.End.

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