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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : May 21, 2014 12:30 PM IST
November is Diabetes Awareness Month.
Keeping a track of your diet, proper exercise and vitamin supplements with enough folic acid can improve the changes of conception in diabetic women. Women with diabetes face a special challenge-getting and then staying pregnant. Poor glucose control may create an environment where the high sugars prevent both conceiving as well as maintaining the pregnancy, Diabetic Living India reported. Women who develop diabetes can be prone to developing other disorders such as thyroid disease or autoimmune premature ovarian failure.
Miscarriage rates among women with poorly controlled diabetes can be as high as 30 to 60 percent during that crucial first trimester of pregnancy. The risk of birth defects is also high, and also stems from uncontrolled blood sugar levels around the time of conception. A baby's brain, heart, kidneys and lungs form during the first eight weeks of pregnancy, therefore high blood glucose levels are especially harmful during this early stage.
The main diabetes complication, including gestational diabetes, related to pregnancy is macrosomia - or a big baby (higher than the 90th percentile in birth weight). Women with Type 1 diabetes will require insulin before, during and after their pregnancy.
However, if a woman has type 2 diabetes then she will require oral medications with or without insulin to achieve appropriate control of your diabetes. In order to enhance chances of delivering a healthy baby, diabetic women should work with healthcare team to get their blood glucose under control before getting pregnant.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a metabolic disease which is characterised by high blood sugar levels. It can be caused either due to the lack of insulin (type 1 diabetes) or because the body's cells fail to respond to the insulin produced (type 2 diabetes). Some of the common symptoms of diabetes are hunger, frequent urination and increased thirst. While type 1 diabetes is usually genetic, type 2 diabetes is caused more by lifestyle factors. It is one of the common 'lifestyle diseases' which is plaguing people in the developed countries and often has a causal link to heart diseases, hypertension and obesity. (Read more...)
What are the common symptoms of diabetes?
The classic symptoms of diabetes are weight loss, polyuria (frequent urination), polyphagia (increased hunger) and polydipsia (increased thirst). Symptoms develop more quickly in type 1 than type diabetes. Other symptoms include blurred vision, erectile dysfunction and skin rashes.
Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes.
What are the different types of diabetes?
There are basically three types of diabetes type 1, type 2 and gestational (observed during pregnancy).
Type 1 diabetes (earlier caused childhood, juvenile or insulin-dependent diabetes) is actually not just a childhood problem but can occur in adults as well. In type 1, the patient's body is unable to produce insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is the more commonly found form of diabetes. It is an endocrine disorder where the pancreas may be producing insulin but your body may not be able to use it properly. This causes a rise in blood sugar levels. Due to the modern lifestyle where people are mostly sedentary, eat processed foods and lead a stressful life, type 2 diabetes is fast becoming the most common disease around the world with India leading the pack.
Gestational diabetes refers to the ailment that afflicts women during pregnancy. Pregnant women who were not diabetic before but who have high blood sugar levels during pregnancy are said to have gestational diabetes (GD). Normally, the disease affects women quite late in her pregnancy, around the 24th week. The disease does not show noticeable signs or symptoms. In some cases however, gestational diabetes may cause excessive thirst or increased urination. Read more
Complications of diabetes
Diabetes is a silent killer which can lead to deadly complications if left undetected for too long. It can affect your immune system, kidneys, eyes, heart, skin and sperm. It can even cause erectile dysfunction! Read more
Living with diabetes
Living with diabetes becomes stress-free once a systematic approach to taking medications, dietary restrictions, regular physical activity and blood glucose monitoring is established. Controlling diabetes is often a lifetime task that requires a combination of personal determination, medical assistance, friends and family, support groups and online tools. Read more
Home remedies for diabetes
Cinnamon: Also known as dalchini, it improves insulin sensitivity and lower blood glucose levels. Having as little as teaspoon of cinnamon per day can improve one's insulin sensitivity and help controlling weight, thereby decreasing one's risk for heart disease.
Tip: Include about 1 gram of dalchini into your daily diet for about a month to help lower blood sugar levels.
Green Tea: Unlike other tea leaves, green tea is unfermented and is high in polyphenol content.
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