Posted by My project was on gestational diabetes. This image is an image of a pregnant woman who is very advanced in her pregnancy. In her hand she is holding a cellphone that is displaying her sugar levels from using a continuous glucose monitor. However CGMs are not always accurate so I have drawn an image that shows her sugar levels from a finger prick. The green coloring represents that her sugar levels are in the green zone or better known as the healthy zone. The red coloring represents the blood that was taken from her finger. I have drawn the child to be abnormally large as that is a common disorder to happen with the fetus within a pregnancy with gestational diabetes. Here is also a copy of my essay to learn more!
The objective this essay will cover is pregnancy disorders that are common and their cause. Gestational Diabetes is defined as having elevated levels of glucose during a pregnancy when a woman has not had so before. (Yale Medicine, 2023). A woman will also experience symptoms of diabetes, but this typically gets resolved after the pregnancy is over. Gestational diabetes is pretty common. (Yale Medicine, 2023). In fact, gestational diabetes occurs in about ten percent of pregnancies for women who either have history of gestational diabetes, are obese, or have a family history of diabetes or prediabetes. (Yale Medicine, 2023).
So, what is the cause? While the exact cause is unknown, there is a theory. The theoretical cause of gestational diabetes is pancreatic cell dysfunction in the context of chronic insulin resistance (Tao, Zhang, Li, Lu, 2023). What is insulin resistance? Insulin resistance is a condition where the body’s cells do not respond properly to the hormone insulin and thus cause a sugar build up in the bloodstream (Cleveland Clinic, 2025). This is also known as insulin sensitivity (Cleveland Clinic, 2025). Another theoretical cause of gestational diabetes is that gut microbiota might play a role (Tao, Zhang, Li, Lu, 2023).
However, studies are insufficient and because there are so many microbiotas in the gut, it is hard to know which ones specifically would cause gestational diabetes (Tao, Zhang, Li, Lu, 2023). Are there complications associated with gestational diabetes? Yes. Some of the complications associated with gestational diabetes are spontaneous abortion, preeclampsia, and stillbirth (Scott, 2024). Another complication would be that the baby is born abnormally large (Tao, Zhang, Li, Lu, 2023). A maternal complication would be diabetic ketoacidosis (Scott, 2024). Diabetic ketoacidosis is when the body starts to break down fat for energy and produces ketones (Mayo Clinic, n.d.). What are some treatments or measures that can be taken to prevent gestational diabetes? According to the research article produced by Rebecca Scott, the taking of folic acid and the avoidance of teratogenic drugs are a way to prevent gestational diabetes in pre-pregnancy (Scott, 2024). One treatment is the taking of insulin throughout the pregnancy (Scott, 2024).
The insulin that is injected will steadily increase as the insulin resistance increases throughout the pregnancy (Scott, 2024). Tight glycemic control is much needed when dealing with a case of gestational diabetes (Scott, 2024). The reason for tight glycemic control throughout the pregnancy is because when there is too much sugar in the bloodstream, then that means the baby will be ingesting too much sugar as well and become abnormally large and it can also lead to stillbirth (Scott, 2024). Another way to monitor gestational diabetes is placing the mother on a continuous glucose monitor so that way there is a continuous reading of the glucose levels within the bloodstream. The only problem with a CGM is that there is a fifteen-minute delay in accuracy so in some extreme cases, constant finger pricking is needed to monitor the glucose levels.
The author discusses a common pregnancy disorder called gestational diabetes, as well as its underlying causes. This condition presents when a woman has a high level of glucose due to pregnancy. Women can experience symptoms of this disease; however it is typically resolved after the pregnancy is over. This condition occurs in approximately 10% of women who have comorbidities.
The exact cause of this disease for pregnant women is unknown, according to the author, however the theory is that it has to do with pancreatic cell dysfunction. In essence, the patient develops insulin resistance whereby the body’s cells don’t respond normally to insulin. Also popular is a theory that gut microbes may play a role, but this is a complex thesis to study due to the amount of biota in the gut.
Complications from gestational diabetes include spontaneous abortion, preeclampsia, and stillbirth, among other things. Taking folic acid and avoiding teratogenic drugs can help a woman avoid the condition, and it can be treated by insulin. Continuous glucose monitors are also an effective medium, but they do have some drawbacks.