Gestational diabetes and induction/ birth

[Lenny1987]

Morning all, I was diagnosed with gd this week, and have just seen my midwife today. She tells me to expect to be induced and 38 or 39 weeks, but my consultant will tell me when. How does this work, when will the consultant decide - I would be interested to hear your experiences. Did anyone with gd controlled by diet have a non induced birth around their due date or does that not happen? I'm finding it all a bit overwhelming, as all the midwife guidance and birth classes I have attended through the hospital have all been focused around giving birth in a birthing pool in a special suite, and now all of those choices have been taken away from me! I know it's best for baby but its just worrying.

These choices haven’t been taken away from you. You can ask to speak with the senior midwife about your choices. Also look in the AIMS website.
I’ve just been given a borderline diagnoses, but I was sent home with s blood sugar monitor (have you?) and all my reads bar one are coming out normal.
I’m eating low GI food and I’ve cut out drinking my weight in sugary drinks. I think I got into a bad habit with fruit juice and fizzy drinks when I had morning sickness and I’m wondering whether this had a big effect.
Can I ask you what your glucose tolerance test number was?

I have gd, currently diet controlled. My midwife & consultant agree that as long as i stay diet controlled and there are no other issues then theres no reason why i can't be left to go into labour naturally.

Even if i have to take meds i could still be left until 40 + 6.

GD is a very individual condition. Everyone is treated differently depending on their own set of circumstances eg. Baby size, meds, placenta function etc.

Im only 33 weeks so alot could change in the next few weeks depending on how my pregnancy/diabetes progresses. But as of now im having a natural birth but am keeping my self open to the possibility that i may or may not need help in the end.

I had GD with my son, diet controlled. I was going to be induced at 40 weeks but naturally went into labour at 38+4. He was only 6 lb 2 oz, and is a healthy 3yo now.

This thread has come at the perfect time! I had the call to say my reading was 8.6 this morning, meaning I have GD. Clinic on Wednesday to organise diet control, and the midwife has told me to talk to the consultant about avoiding induction. As I will be 41 when baby arrives, I've already been told they'll want to induce at 38 weeks, although it can't be forced. I'm very concerned about intervention and a bit panicked today!

Interesting to hear the variety of experience, hopefully the consultant might help to make things clearer. Helpful to hear of a normal weight baby too, everyone keeps talking about a big baby, though on current measurements I am normal, although I know they aren't always accurate anyway. my numbers were indetermined they said as i was borderline, and all of my readings have been normal after food. I will have a look at the website, thanks for the suggestion.

The aims website is really helpful, thank you aetw. It has made me feel much more like I can still have a bit of control about how I give birth! I am going to be trying to hold my ground a little more than I would have done with the consultant.

I was induced at 37.5 weeks due to babies size, she was born weighing 8lb 11oz and was estimated at 10+lbs of I'd gone to full term.

I had a good induction, peasant inserted, hung around the hospital for 24 hrs wandering around, reading magazines and eating. Waters broken, laboured stops up, pacing and leaning on the bed, then baby born less than 5hrs later with a bit of gas n air.

You'll probably hear lots of induction horror stories so wanted to get in early and say it wasn't bad for me, wasn't tethered to the bed, no cannula or IVs, no excessive internal exams.

I had gd and controlled with diet at the start and eventually took metformin. As you have extra scans etc they keep an eye on the baby's growth, we were due on the 17th but due to talk about induction on the 15th.. my boy came on the 14th . 8lb1 so not even a big baby. Good luck x

I didn't have GD but did have an induced birth. Don't want to scare you at all but the contractions are very intense. They get strong very quickly which means your body doesn't make the hormones to cope with the pain. The best thing I did was had a tens machine. My induction ward was rubbish, they offered me no pain relief and I had to scream for gas and air. The tens machine really helped. In the end I had one injection of diamorphine (to get some sleep), gas and air, paracetamol and the tens machine. All before I even got on the labour ward.

So anyway I highly recommend hiring a tens machine. I got mine from here. www.babytens.net

@lenny1987 op I have been reading up about GDM in the AIMS diabetes book. I thought you might find these pages useful.

Really helpful thank you. I haven't got an appointment with an obstetrician until September where I will be 36 plus 6, and have no scans booked? My midwife said I would have one at 34 and 36 weeks, but now says I have to wait until consultant appointment, so the scan will be 37 weeks at the earliest. Is this normal?

Your midwife can ask for scans if she is unhappy with the size of your baby as clearly she isn't then you don't get scanned. You can be scanned at any time a HCP thinks you need one.

However when you do see the consultant I suggest you ask him/her:

1. Whether you need any scans, and,
2. What date do they want to induce you.

Hopefully being past 36 weeks they can actually give you a date for induction.

I've also heard different things about being induced and it seems it just depends on how your body reacts.

Following as I received a diagnosis last Friday and then saw a consultant earlier this week. Was told if I managed to control my GD through diet, then that would mean I wouldn't have to take medication (Metformin/insulin) but there was still a possibility of being induced at 38-39 weeks due to a risk of placenta deterioration. However, they told me they'd be monitoring me and baby closely (hurrah to more growth scans!) and will be making a decision based on a few weeks worth of observations. I was really nervous about being diagnosed to begin with but I'm going to go with the flow. My main priority is a healthy baby and a healthy me and if that means being induced then so be it.

There's a fab group on FB called Gestational Diabetes UK Mums full of knowledgable and empowered expectant mums who will be more than happy to reassure you/answer any questions.

Oh and the consultant said I should think about colostrum harvesting from week 37 just in case I need to be induced or have a c-section.

That's what I am worrying about tickety snoo, my diagnosis was July 30th, and not seeing a consultant until September, feels like a big gap, and very little time for growth scans. My midwife told me last week I would have one at 34 and one at 36weeks, but I asked her today if she could follow it up and she said my consultant will sort! Feels like she thinks I'm now under the consultant, but the consultant won't even know who I am until 37 weeks when I have my app. maybe I am worried unnecessarily but given the potential issues with GD and the talk of closer monitoring it doesn't seem I am going to get it.

Hello! I had GD with both children but I should say first that this was around 10 years ago. Things may have changed since then. Secondly, I learned then from Mumsnet that the processes and approach for GD varied hugely from health authority to health authority so you might get lots of different answers here and they’re not wrong, it’s just different areas do may do things differently.

I was diet controlled both times. First time round they said they would let me go to term and I would be induced around my due date, subject to all else being well. I was immediately put under consultant-led care, which was fine, same building as midwife-led, just up a different corridor. I had to go to the pregnant diabetes clinic once a fortnight, where they weighed me, took my bp and then had a quick meeting with (I think) the diabetic consultant, obstetric consultant and a midwife to look at my blood sugar diary. I got a couple of extra scans too.

At my final clinic before due date, my bp was a bit high so I was kept in for monitoring and as soon as there was ‘space’, they started my induction. Once in labour, I was hooked up to a monitor, but was able to walk around and sit on my bouncy ball (to add insult to injury, baby was back to back so they had me doing all sorts on the ball to try and get him round). Straightforward birth, no complications, no blood tests or anything afterwards for me or baby. Test 6 weeks post-birth confirmed my bloods were back to normal too.

Second time round was pretty similar although I made it to my due date and went in that day to be induced.

My biggest piece of advice to you (apart from ditch the bread, sweets and chocolate immediately!) is to ask lots of questions to try and achieve as much of your original plans as you can, but accept that you might have to do things differently. A water birth would be nice but if I can’t happen, it can’t - it’s no-one’s fault.

Good luck!

I had GD from 12 weeks and ended up on metformin and slow and fast acting insulin injections. Talk of me being induced boiled down to the growth scan results but pre-eclampsia got me and I was induced at 35 weeks. Baby girl was 6lb 4 and didn't have the big belly the scans suggested x