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Gestational diabetes, or glucose intolerance as it is called during pregnancy, is a type of diabetes that occurs on pregnant women usually during the 24th to 28th week of pregnancy. As opposed to juvenile diabetes which is caused by the pancreas’ inability to produce insulin, and adult onset diabetes which is caused by diet with very high sugar level, gestational diabetes is caused by the hormones produced by the placenta, namely cortisol, estrogen, and lactogen, which are all produced for the protection of the fetus and the mother but are also hindrances to the insulin’s ability to distribute glucose throughout the body.

Although the effects of gestational diabetes may be not very harmful to the mother, the effects of its complications on the health of the baby should not be ignored. Gestational diabetes often leads to macosomia, which is the abnormal enlargement of the baby because of the fat accumulated from the mother’s unused glucose. Another complication that the baby may have from gestational diabetes is hypoglycemia or the increase in the amount of insulin in the baby’s bloodstream, which could make the baby become obese.

Since the symptoms produced by gestational diabetes are usually ignored as merely natural effects of pregnancy, it is recommended that women who are on the 24th to 28th week of their pregnancy should take screening tests such as the Oral Glucose Screening Test (OGST) and the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT).

After taking the test, doctors usually recommend mothers to have a low-sugar diet to lower their blood sugar levels. Exercise may also help to prevent the risks of glucose intolerance but it is not recommended for high-risk pregnancies. The best treatment for gestational diabetes is the cessation of the hormones that hinders the glycolytic effects of insulin which can only be done after the delivery of the child, which is done only several weeks after the detection of gestational diabetes.