Complications of gestational diabetes in pregnant women and babies

Gestational diabetes can lead to complications in the mother and fetus if left unchecked. The risk of complications of gestational diabetes will be reduced if the diabetes that occurs in this pregnancy can be diagnosed and treated appropriately. Actually, what are the effects of gestational diabetes that can occur? How dangerous is it for the development of mother and fetus?

Complications of gestational diabetes in infants

If gestational diabetes is not treated properly or is not detected, it can cause serious complications of gestational diabetes for you or your baby. The following are the effects of gestational diabetes that can be experienced by babies, quoted from the Mayo Clinic:

Larger baby size (macrosomia)

Complications of gestational diabetes can make the baby bigger, usually weighing more than 4 kilograms (macrosomia).

The baby in the womb stores excess sugar that it receives from the mother's bloodstream as fat so that the baby in the womb can grow bigger.

However, if it is too large, you are at risk for induced labor or a cesarean section. Macrosomic conditions can cause problems at birth such as shoulder dystocia.

This condition occurs when the baby who passes through the vagina on his shoulder is stuck on the pubic bone (the bone that supports your lower body and is also called the hip bone).

Shoulder dystocia can be dangerous because your baby can't breathe when he is stuck. This is thought to affect 1 in 200 births as a result of complications of gestational diabetes.

Premature birth

If the mother has complications of gestational diabetes, the possible impact is premature birth (the baby is born before the 37th week of pregnancy).

When the baby experiences this, it can lead to complications of gestational diabetes, such as jaundice or respiratory distress syndrome.

Miscarriage

Another complication of gestational diabetes is the possibility of having a miscarriage at 23 weeks of gestation. Therefore, always check with your doctor, especially if you have any unusual symptoms.

Still birth

This is when the baby is born dead. Still birth can occur because of the impact of gestational diabetes experienced by pregnant women.

Hypoglycemia

The impact of gestational diabetes that will be experienced by the fetus in the womb is hypoglycemia. This is a condition when the blood sugar level is too low and needs to be treated immediately with breastfeeding after birth.

If breastmilk cannot be given, the baby needs to get glucose directly into the bloodstream. Then it becomes a complication of gestational diabetes.

Respiratory distress syndrome

The impact of gestational diabetes that will be experienced by babies in the womb, namely abnormalities in the circulatory system.

Various disorders are caused by an excess of red blood cells (polycythemia vera) which is triggered by hypoxic conditions in infants.

As a result, the blood becomes thicker, which can lead to strokes, seizures, damage to the intestinal tract, and thrombosis of the kidney blood vessels.

This condition also causes elevated bilirubin levels in the blood (hyperbilirubinemia) and result in excessive workload on the liver. This is the impact of complications of gestational diabetes.

Complications of gestational diabetes in pregnant women

Most women who develop complications of gestational diabetes are able to deliver at the predicted time and go into labor normally. In some cases, complications of gestational diabetes can determine how the baby is born.

If you have complications of gestational diabetes and the fetus is growing normally, you may be offered the opportunity to start labor after week 38 of pregnancy.

If your baby is too large (macrosomia), the doctor or midwife will discuss the risks and benefits of a cesarean section.

This discussion about the choice of delivery when you have gestational diabetes usually takes place between the 36th week of pregnancy to the 38th week of pregnancy.

If you suffer from complications of gestational diabetes, there are several complications that may arise, namely:

Preeclampsia

The complications of gestational diabetes put women at a higher risk than women without this condition for developing preeclampsia later in their pregnancy.

Preeclampsia is a condition associated with a sudden increase in blood pressure and this condition can become serious. Preeclampsia is a complication of gestational diabetes in pregnant women.

Caesarean section

This is a type of surgery used to deliver a baby, instead of a normal vaginal delivery. When you are at risk for complications from gestational diabetes, your doctor may recommend that you have a C-section. This procedure is usually recommended for the safety of both mother and baby.

Prevent complications of postpartum gestational diabetes

When pregnant women experience complications of gestational diabetes, there are other things that need to be considered to reduce the risk of adverse events occurring after childbirth, namely:

Often control the blood sugar levels of mothers and babies

About 2 hours after birth, your baby's blood glucose will be calculated, usually before he or she feeds a second time.

If their blood glucose remains low, your baby may need to be fed through tube or an intravenous drip. If your baby is not well or requires close supervision, he may need to be watched in the neonatal unit.

In addition to monitoring the baby, complications of gestational diabetes increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes after pregnancy.

Type 2 diabetes is when your body doesn't produce enough insulin or your body's cells don't react to insulin (insulin resistance).

Therefore, the mother should carry out some further blood sugar levels after giving birth.

Therefore, it is very important that you monitor the blood glucose after delivery to check whether the blood glucose returns to normal or not.

Your baby may have a greater risk of developing complications of gestational diabetes or obesity (having a body mass index of more than 30) later.

Consult a doctor before becoming pregnant again

After experiencing complications of gestational diabetes, you have an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes again in future pregnancies.

It is very important to discuss with your doctor if you plan to become pregnant again. Your doctor may arrange a monitoring of your blood glucose from an early stage.

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