Heart Risks from Gestational Diabetes — Page 2

What is gestational diabetes?

You need insulin, a hormone produced by your pancreas, to move blood sugar into the cells in your body for use as energy. Insulin resistance during pregnancy, when your body can’t make and effectively use enough insulin, leads to gestational diabetes, the American Diabetes Association explains.

Insulin resistance, especially when it starts during early pregnancy, results in hyperglycemia,  high blood sugar levels.

What causes gestational diabetes?

When you are expecting, your body goes through changes, including weight gain and the release of special hormones. While the changes are normal in pregnancy, they affect your body’s ability to use insulin.

By the late months of pregnancy, all pregnant women have some insulin resistance — but for most, it does not increase blood sugar enough to cause gestational diabetes. In women who do develop the condition, their bodies can’t produce enough insulin to overcome insulin resistance, causing blood sugar levels to soar.

Risks factors for gestational diabetes

Risk factors include:

• Women who are overweight or obese often develop insulin resistance before they become pregnant, so they start pregnancy with a higher risk for gestational diabetes.
• Gaining too much weight during pregnancy may also trigger the condition, according to the CDC.
• Having a family history of diabetes makes it more likely you will develop gestational diabetes, suggesting genes play a role the condition, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) points out.
• Advanced maternal age (women older than 35 to 40).

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