Glucose & Growth: Understanding Blood Sugar with Gestational Diabetes

How Your Body Changes

During pregnancy, your body undergoes major shifts to fuel a growing baby. To ensure your child receives enough nutrients, your body naturally makes two key adjustments:

1. It changes how it responds to insulin to increase glucose (sugar) in your blood.
2. It modulates insulin levels to keep that blood sugar within a healthy range.

Typically, the pancreas produces insulin to signal cells to take up glucose for energy. In the first trimester, you may experience lower blood sugar due to nausea or increased insulin sensitivity. However, as you move into the second and third trimesters, insulin resistance in the mother naturally increases. This ensures a steady supply of glucose is available for the baby.

What is Gestational Diabetes?

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) occurs when your pancreas can’t make enough insulin to deal with the insulin resistance, causing blood sugar to rise. This increases health risks for both the mother and baby.

We don’t fully understand why some people develop GDM while others don’t. It likely involves a mix of pregnancy-related hormonal changes, genetics, and lifestyle. Importantly, being diagnosed with GDM is not a personal failure.

Because GDM symptoms—like fatigue, bloating, and frequent urination—often overlap with normal pregnancy symptoms, it can be hard to detect. This is why healthcare providers screen blood sugar levels between 24 and 28 weeks.

Managing GDM

A diagnosis can feel overwhelming, but GDM is highly manageable. Your healthcare team will likely start with lifestyle adjustments:

• Dietary Changes: Reducing high-sugar foods and drinks.
• Physical Activity: Incorporating gentle, regular movement.

If lifestyle changes aren’t enough, medications like insulin or metformin may be prescribed. Both are safe and effective. Insulin does not pass through the placenta to the child. While metformin does, research has shown no negative outcomes for the baby, though long-term studies continue. Always consult your doctor regarding medication.

Postpartum Care

In most cases, GDM subsides after birth as hormones stabilize. However, individuals who had GDM have a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life. To stay healthy, a blood sugar test is recommended:

1. 6 weeks to 6 months postpartum.
2. Before any future pregnancy.
3. Every 1–3 years thereafter.

You’re Not Alone

Pregnancy is a time of rapid physical and emotional change. While GDM is becoming more common, accurate information and a strong supportive network and healthcare team can help manage it successfully and optimize the outcome for mother and child.

About the author

Sam Ugulini

Sam Ugulini is a graduate student in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Western University. He studies how cannabis use during pregnancy can affect pancreatic hormone secretion and metabolism in the affected offspring. With a background in interdisciplinary medical sciences, Sam is passionate about making complex health information easier for everyone to understand.