Diabetes Mellitus Complication during Pregnancy

Executive Summary

This paper is intended to give a comprehensive vision to the diagnosis and management of diabetes during pregnancy. This report is prepared keeping patients under consideration who are of age 18 and above. This report reflects light towards the harmful effects of diabetes that might result due to inappropriate system of management. This will provide an outline of an ideal structure upon which proper care can be taken of those women who are suffering from diabetes while they are pregnant. This will include nutrition therapy, physical activities, precautions, outcomes and preventions with the combination of efficient diagnosis. I will emphasis on the complications linked to this type of pregnancy and briefly highlight the risk factors involved in such cases. It will provide a complete guidance regarding two types of diabetes and type of cure will be suitable in both types of diabetic patient and why these cases need more aggressive treatments. It will give an idea of the consequences that might arise in several circumstances.

Diabetes Mellitus Complication during Pregnancy

Introduction

There are two types of diabetes in pregnancy:

1.Gestational diabetes: it occurs before the mother gets pregnant but develops resistance to insulin because of the hormones of pregnancy.

2.Pregestational diabetes: this type refers to the women who already have diabetes and get pregnant.

These types of diabetes develop complications in pregnancy and prove to be very risky for the fetus. The placenta works as the supplier of nutrients, water and variety of hormones to the growing fetus which keeps the pregnancy in a good condition. Some hormones like cortisol and estrogen may disturb the effects of insulin. Such effects which begin about 20 to 24 weeks into the pregnancy are called the contra-insulin effect.

With the growth of placenta the production of hormones also increases which automatically resists insulin on a great extent. However the pancreas produce extra insulin to overcome the insulin resistance but a time arrives when the insulin production from the pancreas is not able to overcome the large mass of insulin resistance. This effect of placenta hormones causes gestational diabetes.

The requirement of insulin for a woman changes when she gets pregnant. Insulin-dependent mother then needs more insulin than that she needed before pregnancy. This requirement increases with the progress in pregnancy.

Diabetes as a series concern in pregnancy

The fetus gets the blood glucose from the mother's excess quantity of blood glucose which effects the baby's growth due to increased tissue and fat deposits. It creates a condition called "macrosomia," which means "large body”. Such infants are born larger than the size of a normal baby.

Effects

It may have a lot of effects on the child during a woman's pregnancy .Insulin-dependent mothers give birth to such babies who have risks of serious problems at time of pregnancy as well as at the time of birth. Serious problems can be defects in birth and may result in stillbirth. It includes abnormalities in the formation of brain, heart, urinary tract and gastrointestinal system.Women with gestational diabetes usually have normal blood glucose levels ...