Gestational Diabetes 38 weeks

[Cooley]

Hi,
I’m currently 38 weeks 4 days pregnant.
I’ve been having regular growth scans every 2 weeks for the past couple of months as baby was measuring smaller than they’d expect as my first child was a big baby.
The baby is growing but has just been measuring smaller.
However yesterday I had another growth scan which showed the babys growth has shot up quite a lot. The abdominal circumference measurement is now out of the normal range. Due to this I am being made to have a blood test on Monday to rule out gestational diabetes.
I am so confused. I’ve been dealing with the worry of having a small baby for the past couple of months and now it’s the complete opposite!
What are the chances of me having GD? I’ve never had any sugar detected in my urine, does that mean anything?
If I’ve got undiagnosed GD, could it have harmed my baby in any way?
I’m so near the end of my pregnancy now, if they do find that I have GD, will they even do anything about it?
Thank you in advance for any advice or help you can give me! Xx

Hi OP!

I was diagnosed with GD at 28 weeks. I never had any sugar in my urine either - it doesn’t always show there.

GD can cause small babies as well as big babies, and can cause other complications. However, the fact that you’ve been having regular scans means that any issues would most likely have been picked up anyway, so try not to worry.

You will probably be told to start monitoring your sugars with a home blood testing kit and to follow a GD friendly diet (no sugar, no white carbs etc). You may also be prescribed metformin and / or insulin if diet and exercise doesn’t do the trick of controlling your sugar levels.

You may also have an appointment with an obstetrician to discuss potential birth options, such as an induction or c-section (but these aren’t always needed).

If you do have GD your baby will also have their blood sugar tested 3 times after birth to make sure their levels are stable. You will have a further test at 13 weeks to check you don’t have type 2 diabetes, and you will be given a yearly diabetes test from now on because GD can be a predictor of type 2 diabetes.

There’s an awesome private Facebook group called Gestational Diabetes UK - I really recommend it. There is loads of good advice, and some women there will also have had a late diagnosis so can answer questions better than me!

Try not to worry too much OP. As pp said, you are already having regular scans so under good supervision anyway.

I was diagnosed with GD at 38 weeks, I had sugar in my urine often but when I had the blood test it showed as normal. Wasnt until they gave me a blood sugar level kit to test with it was diagnosed. At that late stage they just asked me to revise my diet as best I could, and said we might have to look at induction as they didn't want me going over 40 weeks.

I gave birth 2 days after diagnosis to a healthy 7.2lb boy.

@Silverstripe @xxxemzyxxx
Thank you both for your replies!
I’ve read about undiagnosed diabetes resulting in stillbirth which has totally freaked me out! I really hope the results from tomorrow’s test don’t take too long!
Thank you again x

I'm 29 weeks and waiting for my blood results for GD I don't have much sugar generally as I don't eat chocolate don't have many sweets don't like cake... but have been eating white carbs daily but I'm a good effort to cut them out now... I had glucose show up twice on my last two midwife appointment... if the blood test comes back all clear what should I do/say to them?
My last urine check was very high with glucose and I hadn't had any sugar and had eaten pretty well so I'm a little concerned. They also said the baby is measuring on the bigger side I'm at the very top of the chart the hospital graph ... this is my first baby... any tips/help appreciated.