gestational diabetes late diagnosis at 34 weeks

[Booni]

I had my 34 weeks appointment with a midwife last week. I was told there was glucose in my urine sample and I was booked in for a 3 hours glucose test. Unfortunately the results came back positive and I was told I had gestational diabetes. Over the phone I was told my appointment was in 5 days(!!) - I was sent some links in the meantime to watch the NHS videos on YouTube about GD and was told to educate myself before my appointment because I will be given 45 minutes with a midwife which might not be enough . When I asked about diet I was told to be "thoughtful " of what I am eating in the next 5 days whatever that means...I am really worried that the GD was discovered too late and my baby might be already unwell. I had some growth scans (for a different reasons) and baby was slightly above average but nobody said a thing...also waiting another 5 days for my appointment is not great as I keep googling and making myself worried sick. Any advice would be appreciated x

Please try not to worry. GD can start at anytime in your pregnancy and chances are if you'd had it for a long time the glucose in urine would've come up before 34 weeks and bubs would be a lot bigger than just slightly above average.

In terms of diet plenty of vegetables, protein and try lower carb options, for example switching white rice for brown and sweet potato instead of white potatoes. Limit sugar intakje and try and go for ntural sugars, such as fruits rather than refined sugars in sweets, cakes, biscuits ect. But don't punish yourself, moderation is key!
Best of luck OP!

If you had it earlier, baby would be a lot bigger.

There isn't really an average size for babies either. Hence the whole percentile. That whole percentile is 'average' so as long as they're on there and not right at the top or right at the bottom, baby's size is fine

I was also diagnosed at 34 weeks. Try not to worry too much. The main complication is baby getting too big and you know yours don't excessively so. They will keep a close eye on growth now. The other possible complication is baby's post birth blood sugar levels, which they will also monitor now. Jabbing yourself in the finger after every meal is a pain but it's not too bad. To be honest I was actually grateful during the birth, as I had a dedicated diabetes midwife with me all the way through instead of different people in and out.

In terms of diet, it's different for everyone in terms of what triggers high blood sugar. After a week or so of monitoring your sugars you will probably figure it out. A good rule of thumb is "never eat a naked carb" - pair all carbs with protein. Good luck!

Honestly OP, you really don't need to panic! In fact, count yourself lucky you weren't diagnosed at 9w like me which meant a whole pregnancy of no sugar, low carbs, pricking my finger after every meal, etc!

It's very easily controlled with a few diet changes and moving around as much as possible. AFAIK your baby would only really be big and need to be delivered early if you didn't manage to keep it under control. Try to see this as an annoyance (as who wants to be on a diet when pregnant?) that is very unlikely to affect any other aspect of your pregnancy as long as you stick to it.

For the next 5 days, keep in mind the following:

• no sugary products
• cut out "white carbs" and switch to wholemeal everything
• bear in mind that some fruit is very sugary. I ate a bowl of muesli (trying to be healthy) but dried fruit like raisins really spike your levels! Look online for "bad fruit" for diabetes and avoid. Actually some veg has more sugar (I seem to remember carrots) so take it easy on those too.
• try to do light exercise if you're not already

At your next appt, they'll probably explain the diet to you and get you to prick before/after meals and note down your readings. You will soon see which foods spike your levels so must be avoided.

In the unlikely event that diet doesn't control it, you might have to be medicated but try not to worry about that yet.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor but went through GD in my last pregnancy!

I can't give advice from an experienced perspective but just wanted to say that my mum had GD with me. It was discovered late. I was a 9lb baby as a result, and big and bloated (mum had to be induced a little bit earlier too), but I was completely healthy, and still am (30 now).. if that helps ease your mind, even just a little! I've never had any health issues whatsoever.

This happened to me in my first pregnancy. No issues, everything was fine, it was diet controlled and I ended up being induced over something completely different.