Type 2 Diabetes - What Is The Risk of Developing Diabetes After Pregnancy?

Women who develop Gestational (related to pregnancy) diabetes, are known to be at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes throughout their lives. Researchers at Fondazione Mario Negri Sud in Italy, suspected having a stillbirth could also be a risk factor. They compared women with a history of normal pregnancies, gestational diabetes, and stillbirth to learn which ones were at high risk for Type 2 diabetes and heart and blood vessel disease.

Their study, reported on in the journal Diabetologia in October 2014, included...

• 3,851 women who had developed diabetes during pregnancy, and
• 11,553 with a history of a normal pregnancies.

Over a period of 5.4 years...

• women without Gestational diabetes had the lowest rate of developing Type 2 diabetes.
• among women with a history of Gestational diabetes, the rate was about 25 times as high.
• women who had a stillbirth had about twice the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in both groups.
• women with a history of Gestational diabetes had 2.4 times the risk of heart and blood vessel disease as women with normal pregnancies.

From these results, it was recommend women who developed diabetes during their pregnancy and women who had a stillbirth needed to be followed up especially carefully.

Normalizing weight before pregnancy is helpful in preventing both Gestational diabetes and stillbirth.
Although stillbirth sometimes happens with no known risk factors or for genetic reasons, there are some actions women can tale to minimize the risk...

• smoking,
• alcohol,
• caffeine, and
• drugs are to be avoided.

Before taking medications tell your doctor if you might be pregnant. Attend all prenatal appointments regularly to allow your doctor or midwife to monitor you and your baby...

• report any abdominal pain or bleeding as soon as it occurs.
• from about 16 weeks on you should feel the baby move. If your baby stops moving report this to your doctor or midwife right away.
• also report itching, which can be a symptom of a liver condition that can complicate pregnancy.
• be careful to avoid infections.
• wear gloves to clean your cat's litter box.
• wash your hands thoroughly after gardening and before preparing or eating food.
• if you eat meat, be sure it is cooked thoroughly. If you drink milk, it must be pasteurized. Avoid soft cheeses that carry fungus or bacteria, such as soft cheeses with white rinds and bleu cheese.
• avoid fish oil supplements and ask your physician or midwife about herbal teas. Take your prenatal vitamins as instructed.

Although managing your disease can be very challenging, Type 2 diabetes is not a condition you must just live with. You can make simple changes to your daily routine and lower both your weight and your blood sugar levels. Hang in there, the longer you do it, the easier it gets.