Diet Samples
Monitoring Baby During Pregnancy
Your doctor may watch the baby more closely during the last 2 to 3 months of pregnancy if you have a severe case of gestational diabetes. Your doctor may ask you to count your baby’s movements during the last trimester. If the baby becomes less active, you will need to alert your doctor immediately.
If your blood sugar cannot be controlled or it is high enough to require insulin shots, you may begin to have fetal heart monitoring. The monitoring will include non-stress tests or periodic ultrasounds around 32 weeks to check on the baby which is otherwise called a biophysical profile. If you can control the diabetes without insulin shots and no other problems are present, these tests may not be required until the last few weeks or until your delivery due date.
An ultrasound may be requested around 29 to 33 weeks to measure the baby and get an estimate on the weight. If the baby is already too big, then you may begin taking insulin. Another ultrasound may be ordered closer to labor if the doctor suspects the baby is large, although ultrasounds are not very accurate in determining a baby’s size at this late stage in pregnancy. You may or may not be induced early or your doctor may recommend delivering the baby by C-section.
Side Note: If you were diagnosed with diabetes in the 1st half of your pregnancy, you could have already had an unrecognized diabetes before getting pregnant. If this is the case, your doctor may order a fetal echocardiogram to look at the baby’s heart due to the risk of birth defects. High levels of blood sugar during the first 8 weeks of pregnancy can raise the risk of birth defects.
Related Information on Gestational Diabetes:
Tags: baby delivery, labor complications, large baby, macrosomia
