Depending on how serious your condition, you will need to track your glucose levels using a glucose meter or strips.  At the same time, you will need to eat a well-planned low carbohydrate diet to keep glucose levels at normal levels.  Your doctor may be able to help with developing specific meal and snack plans based on your weight, height and current activity level.

Your new diet will need a correct balance of fats, carbohydrates and proteins but at the same time supplying enough of the proper minerals, calories and vitamins for you and your baby.  To maintain your glucose levels at normal levels, you won’t be able to skip meals, especially the most important one of the day, breakfast.

Once you get into a routine, the diet will no longer feel “restrictive”.  The diabetic diet is in place to give you the opportunity to get not only yourself but the whole family into healthy eating habits.  Moderate exercise can also help improve the body’s ability to process glucose and will keep blood sugar levels in check.  Many pregnant women with gestational diabetes benefit from just 30 minutes of aerobic activity a day, which can be walking or swimming.  Although, exercise isn’t advisable to all pregnant women, so you will need to ask your doctor what type of physical activity is okay.

If you’re not able to control your blood sugar on diet and exercise, you will be prescribed insulin by your doctor.  Approximately 15 percent of women with gestational diabetes need insulin, which can be administered through shots you give yourself or oral medications (glyburide or metformin are examples) – the safety and effectiveness of these oral drugs are still up for debate.

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