During pregnancy, various changes occur in the female body. At the same time, some laboratory studies, tests may show other figures than in non-pregnant patients. You need to carefully monitor these indicators. Otherwise, there is a risk of causing serious harm not only to the expectant mother, but also to the embryo. In particular, it is necessary to monitor the norm of sugar after eating in pregnant women. But what is she? About this in the article.
The norm of sugar after eating in pregnant women
In any healthy representative of the fair sex, who donated blood on an empty stomach for sugar, the rate should normally be 4-6.1 mmol / l. But what will be the sugar norm after eating? A couple of hours after eating, the level may increase to 7.8 mmol / L. Then the indicator begins to gradually decline again.
Speaking about what will be the norm of sugar after eating in pregnant women, you should know that here the numbers will be slightly different. This can be explained by metamorphoses occurring in the hormonal system in a woman carrying a child.
The rate of sugar after meals in pregnant women will also depend on the method of blood sampling. As a rule, the analysis is taken from a finger or vein. It is important to take into account how many hours before the test was completed the last time a woman ate food. Also takes into account the calorie content of all the foods she eaten.
If you take an analysis on an empty stomach, then the indicator can vary from 3.4 mmol / L to 5.6 mmol / L. The numbers will be relevant if blood is taken from a vein.
Experts also set the sugar norm in pregnant women after eating an hour later. It should be about 6.7 mmol / L.
The amount of sugar in pregnant women after meals in two hours will be no more than 6 mmol per liter. At any time of the day, the amount of glucose can be increased to 11 mmol / L. In the case of a higher value of this indicator, diabetes may be suspected.
If a pregnant woman develops gestational diabetes or has sugar, then the amount of sugar in the blood should be constantly monitored, bringing it as close to normal as possible.
If the sugar norm immediately after a meal in pregnant women significantly exceeds the permissible one, then doctors advise women to adhere to the following results with diabetes or gestational diabetes:
- When taking a blood test on an empty stomach, the amount of sugar should be no more than 5.3 mmol.
- One hour after a meal, glycemia should be around 7.8 mmol.
- Two hours after a meal, the indicator should drop to 6.7 mmol.
It should also be noted that in order to obtain the most reliable information about the amount of sugar in pregnant women after eating, a woman should prepare for the analysis. To do this, you should refuse to use sugary drinks and not eat carbohydrate foods from the evening. Usually, an analysis is given in the morning, while strictly on an empty stomach. It is necessary to have a good sleep, and also not to subject an organism to physical activities.
Deviation from the norm
A woman who is in a position must constantly monitor her own health, informing the gynecologist about the slightest change in her health. Since during pregnancy the likelihood of gestational diabetes is greatly increased, it is necessary to periodically donate blood to determine the amount of glucose in it.
If pregnant women have more fasting sugar than after eating, this suggests that you should make an appointment with the endocrinologist. In the case of gestational type of diabetes, the indicators are higher than normal, but lower than that of a person who has type 2 diabetes. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the number of amino acids in the blood decreases significantly during pregnancy, but the rate of ketone bodies increases.
Complications
It will be very important to know how sugar should be after an hour of eating in pregnant women, since any deviations can provoke unpleasant consequences. For example, gestational diabetes can lead to the following complications:
- Obesity.
- Death of the fetus.
- Asphyxia or hypoxia.
- Cardiovascular pathology.
- Hyperbilirubinemia.
- Respiratory distress syndrome of the baby.
- The development of type 2 diabetes.
- Diabetic fetopathy in the fetus.
- Injury to the skeleton, as well as various dysfunctions of the central nervous system of the fetus.
Identification of gestational diabetes
If blood sugar is increased after eating in pregnant women, this may indicate the development of gestational diabetes. However, you should pay attention to the fact that most often the symptoms of this disease are mild. In most cases, pregnant women do not even pay any attention to the symptoms of the disease. This is causing a serious problem. You can easily determine the disease if you donate blood for analysis. However, the test can also be done independently at home.
To do this, you only need to purchase a glucometer, which is a special device for determining the amount of sugar in the blood. Experts say that on an empty stomach the indicator should be in the range from 5 mmol / l to 7 mmol / l.
And what kind of sugar should pregnant women have after an hour? As a rule, in this case it is about 10 mmol. After 2 hours, the sugar level drops to 8.5 mmol. The indicators will be relevant for women who have gestational diabetes. Before measuring the sugar level after eating in pregnant women, you should also pay attention to the fact that the accuracy of the glucometer is taken into account.
Statistics show that every tenth woman during pregnancy is diagnosed with gestational diabetes. As a rule, he manifests himself in the third trimester or at the end of the second. However, in most cases, the pathology disappears on its own without therapy after delivery. True, women are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.
Manifest diabetes
Specialists also highlight the so-called manifest diabetes. The disease is characterized by the following symptoms:
- Glycemia will be about 7 mmol or more.
- At that, glycated hemoglobin is at the level of about 6.5%.
- After 2 hours after taking carbohydrate food, the amount of sugar is about 11 mmol / L.
Since by the third trimester, by the end of the second, there is a threat of increased insulin secretion, gynecologists usually prescribe an oral hourly glucose test at 28 weeks of gestation. Normally, the indicator should be up to 7.8 mmol / L. In the event that after taking 50 g of glucose, the analysis in a woman shows the highest result, then the doctor prescribes an oral three-hour test using 100 g of glucose.
Diabetes
A pregnant woman will be diagnosed with diabetes if the test results show the following values:
- An hour after eating food, the level of glycemia in the blood will be more than 10.5 mmol / L.
- After 2 hours after eating, the indicator will be more than 9.2 mmol / L.
- After 3 hours, the glucose level will not drop below 8 mmol / L.
It is very important for a woman to check the amount of glucose, and also to know the norm after eating food. Doctors also note that some patients are at risk for developing endocrine system dysfunction. First of all, this should include those representatives of the fair sex who have a hereditary predisposition to such an ailment. In addition, a high probability is observed in those women who first became a mother at the age of 30 years or more.
Symptoms
Those women who bear a baby should periodically donate their blood to detect glucose. If there is a suspicion of diabetes, then the tests are carried out earlier than planned by the doctor. Consider the symptoms that indicate a high level of glucose in the blood:
- Great thirst, not passing even after a heavy drink.
- An increase in the daily amount of urine. In this case, urine is completely colorless.
- A constant feeling of hunger.
- High blood pressure.
- Weakness, as well as fatigue.
In order for the doctor to make a more accurate diagnosis, as well as exclude latent diabetes, he must direct the patient to take a blood and urine test. A slight increase in performance is not scary. This can be explained by the fact that when carrying a child, the pancreas in a woman is subjected to a heavy load, and also cannot function fully. This provokes a slight increase in sugar. A greater deviation from the norm indicates a pathology of the endocrine system.
How to normalize the level?
The sugar content of a pregnant woman in the blood will be largely determined by her diet. To normalize this indicator, it is necessary to use specific foods. In addition, it will be necessary to abandon the use of some of them.
What not to eat?
Simple carbohydrates, characterized by rapid absorption, will have to be completely eliminated from your daily diet. Similar products include the following:
- Chocolate candies.
- Cheese.
- Sausages.
- Roasted pork meat.
- Tomato paste, spicy sauce, mayonnaise.
- Condensed or whole milk.
- Sour cream.
- Mashed potatoes.
- Sweet fruits.
- Sweet carbonated drinks, shop juices.
- Ice cream.
- Duck and goose meat.
- Homemade lard.
What needs to be included in the diet?
Specialists to normalize glucose levels recommend the use of so-called complex carbohydrates, characterized by long-term breakdown. To do this, you will have to enrich your diet with the following foods:
- Buckwheat.
- Fresh or stewed vegetables.
- Fig.
- Hard pasta.
- Baked potatoes in the oven.
- Beans, lentils, other legumes.
- Low-fat veal meat.
- Hen.
- Rabbit meat.
Products with antidiabetic properties
Specialists also highlight products with so-called antidiabetic properties. These foods include garlic, spinach, pearl barley, oatmeal, carrots, tomatoes, radishes, cabbage, soy milk. In addition, nutritionists recommend the use of lingonberries, quinces, gooseberries, low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, and yogurt to normalize glycemia. Lemons are also allowed in limited quantities.
During pregnancy, women who adhere to such a diet should consume those foods that will keep their sugar levels within the standard range. However, you do not need to refuse your baby vitamins and minerals, which are important for his development, life and growth. Endocrinologists recommend buying a glucometer, with which you can independently monitor blood glucose. Thus, it will be much easier for a woman to choose the right and wholesome food for herself.
Conclusion
Remember that when carrying a child you are responsible not only for your own condition, but also for the baby’s health. That is why you should be very careful about your well-being, regularly check your blood glucose indicators on an empty stomach, and also after eating after an hour, after 2 and after 3. If you have any abnormalities, be sure to contact your doctor with this question.