Oral glucose tolerance test – Midwives Lelystad

What is gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes Diabetes occurs during pregnancy and disappears after you give birth.

Complaints

You usually don't notice that you have gestational diabetes. If this is the case, you may feel very thirsty, urinate more often, be tired or itch. A lot of amniotic fluid can be seen on the ultrasound.

How does gestational diabetes develop?

Your body produces the hormone insulin to remove sugar from the blood. During pregnancy, this hormone is less sensitive and therefore extra insulin must be produced. With gestational diabetes, the body does not produce extra insulin during pregnancy and there is therefore too much sugar in your blood.

Implications

If gestational diabetes is not treated, it can lead to an overweight baby. A heavy baby increases the risk of complications during pregnancy birth, such as a stuck shoulder or cesarean section. The baby may also have too little sugar after birth, resulting in insufficient energy to stay warm. Finally, the baby's liver is not fully developed yet, so there is a chance jaundice.

Test

You will be referred to the hospital for a OGTT to do, this is a test to detect gestational diabetes. It is important that you do not eat or drink anything for at least 8 hours before the examination. Drinking water, tea and coffee without sugar and milk is allowed. You must take the test on an empty stomach. When you go to the hospital, blood is taken first. Afterwards you will be given a very sweet drink to drink. After 1 hour, blood will be taken again to see how much sugar is in your blood. After 2 hours, blood is taken again. The test takes a number of hours in total and you are not allowed to go home in between, because you can sometimes experience some complaints from the test, such as nausea.

Rash

The result is announced by a doctor. If the result shows that you have gestational diabetes, you will receive special dietary advice. If this does not work sufficiently, you will make an appointment with the gynecologist or midwife, the internist, the diabetes nurse and the dietician.

Take with you to the appointment

When you are referred to the hospital for an abnormal blood sugar test, it is important to bring the following with you:

• proof of insurance
• proof of identity (passport, identity card or driver's license)
• medication and the pharmacy's medication list

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