Pregnancy is a miracle thing in woman’s life. Changes in hormones to respond the pregnancy are expected, but in a few cases this may also factor into insulin resistance, causing a condition called ‘gestational diabetes mellitus or GDM’. Does the condition go away after giving birth? Yes, it usually goes away afterwards, but when?
You are not alone. GDM affects about 3 to 5 percent (%) of all pregnancies.
The most important thing, GDM is a manageable condition and would not hurt your pregnancy and your baby as long as you can control your blood sugar as well .
There are now a lot of doctors and health professionals that have clearly understood about the condition. So, as long as you stick to the prescribed treatment plan, there should be nothing to worry!
The underlying reason of GDM
Placenta is probably the main culprit, though the exactly underlying cause of the condition is not fully understood yet. Placenta stimulates the body to produce and increase the amounts of certain hormones during pregnancy.
These changes are a normal part of your pregnancy. It is needed to prepare the growth of your baby. But the bad news, it may also affect the way of insulin to work (in some pregnancies).
Once your insulin doesn’t work effectively, it’s harder to regulate and maintain your blood sugar. The absorption of glucose in the blood plasma (bloodstream) cannot run optimally with poor performance of insulin or poor volume of insulin released in the bloodstream (a condition we call as insulin resistance – as noted before).
Does gestational diabetes go away during pregnancy?
If you are diagnosed with the condition, it doesn’t go away during pregnancy. Because your placenta keeps continuously producing many hormones that also will continuously affect the action of your insulin in regulating your blood sugar level.
So gestational diabetes treatment is not aimed to get rid of the condition. Instead, it’s mainly focused to keep your blood sugar level normal during pregnancy.
Therefore, it is very important to always stick to the prescribed treatment plan as your doctor suggests! As long as you can control your blood sugar as well, this means you deactivate your gestational diabetes. Work with your healthcare provider for best result!
When does your gestational diabetes go away after pregnancy?
In general, GDM will go away on its own after pregnancy (in most cases). Your blood sugar fluctuation and the action of your hormone insulin would return to normal about a month to six weeks after the day of your delivery.
The key answer is dissipation of your placenta after childbirth. Once your placenta was gone, the hormones of your body will gradually return to normal, so will the sensitivity of your insulin.
After giving birth, see your doctor to check your blood sugar for accurate diagnosis.
If necessary, you may need an oral glucose tolerance test to find out whether your GDM has actually gone. Your doctor usually asks you to take the test between 6 to 8 weeks after childbirth.
Will GDM increase the risk of developing diabetes for you and your baby?
In fact, having GDM during pregnancy is one of type-2 diabetes risk factors.
In other words, if you have gestational diabetes, you are at high risk of developing type-2 later in your life. Fortunately studies found that it doesn’t increase your baby’s risk of type-2 in the future. What’s more?
