Big baby at 20 week scan, possibiliy of Gestational diabetes but test not for 8 weeks - what can I do now?

[LadyOfWaffle]

Just had my 20 week scan on Monday (at 21 + 3) and it showed the baby was on the big side. Because of this (and my size too I guess) I am having a glucose test in around 8 weeks. I had this before but was normal (in last pregnancy), but last time baby was small (ended up being due to a knot in his cord). Either way, what can I do now to prevent or 'cure' it - I don't want to be doing the wrong things for a further 8 weeks. All I can guess is I cut down on sugar? I rarely eat sweet things which I though was the main thing, but then I eat alot of carbs which I think are sometimes bad too? Especially in the morning? I can't find any simple info on what I can do so anything would be really great. Thanks in advance x

Can't advise you much, but DH is diabetic and he has to watch his carb intake just as much as his sugar intake, as the carbs raise his blood glucose level, just more slowly than 'normal' suger, iyswim.

He uses www.diabetes.co.uk quite a bit and reckons it is definately the place to go to for advice and the people on the forums are very helpful.

Best of luck.

I wouldn't like to advise you on diet, as you are pregnant, but for keeping blood sugar stable generally, low GI food is good - brown bread/pasta/rice, veggies etc. Google Glycaemic Index foods and see what comes up.

Thanks, I'll check both those things out

hi im nearly 24 wks pg and i have GD
yes the advise is to have no sugar its not needed as its in al sorts of hidden foods and drinks naturally
carbs eat moderatly
pasta,potatoes,rice wholemeal bread try to have something like this with your meal but not to much of the same thing
fruit well if you have GD you can eat fruit but not to much like normally when pg i love oranges and find them very good when im thirsty and peel 2 and eat them
if you have GD 1 piece of fruit every 3 or 4 hours or more even a handful of grapes can push the sugar levels up
ive had to alter my diet no end and still am.
eg..blood sugar is 5 when i get up
have a bowl of porridge.and 2 hours later its up to 10-12
i know you have to wait 8 wks but maybe you can test yourself in the meantime you might find out before they do.
my babies are around 9lb 40z at 35 weeks because of it
and this one is huge now.......
feel free to ask away if concerned,or want to ask a question
hope you get on ok

How did you find out baby was big?

I had my 20 week last friday and although she said dd was fine i looked at my notes and saw that she was above the middle centile for everything making me think she is big.

Would she have told me??

sorry to hijack

hi there they im always scanned by consultant and he explains everythig to me in detail, he showed me the same as you saw,baby was on the top centile for everything.
i can also tell this my 7th baby.
i will be having a scan every week from 28 weeks and onward i was with the other 3,
as to would she have told you me personally i dont find the people who generally scan you very informative
they are there to scan us and write a report whether we get a nice one who does tell us sometimes (which is nice) but usually if they see something eg...baby to big....
they say make an appt or write a report to your mw or consultant
i dont even see my mw only the same consultant
im kind of lucky the care i get,but i have GD ,and my babies are what they describe as high risk,as we have a genetic syndrome lurking around and it has came out in 2 of my boys .
congrats on a good scan though its lovely when it goes to plan isnt it.ive had 2 biggish babies both way over 9lb at 35 and 37 wks i think easier to get out they kinda help you along.

why have you got to wait eight weeks.? I would try to get one earlier. I had gd with ds and cut all sugar out from my diet and tested my blood three times a day. I would get on to gp or whoever and get the test done quicker. Eight weeks is not acceptable at all.

Good morning LOW, am about to hv a diabetes test at NHS practice down the road in 2 hours. I rang them yesterday and described my symptoms. As I'm 13 weeks along they said I should come immediately and booked me in for the next morning. Couldn't you do that, too? Just ring HNS and GP and ask them? I wouldn't wait 8 weeks TBH. Quite a long time should you have problems the baby will suffer.

Good luck!

the baby wont suffer just grow and grow.....
and you will feel quite ill with GD tired,and lethargic
the reason they wait till you are 28 wks as its the best time to take a glucose intolerance test when pregnant,this is a standard time and common procedure.it is extemely rare for GD to show up in the first trimester, and sometimes if it does its a case of hormones affecting the blood sugar rather than GD itself.
if you raise your concerns to mw or consultant just ask for a testing kit for you to do at home and when first testing its 4 times a day
so you can put your mind at rest or it shows that there is a prob and they can advise on the best diet right now
i am insulin dependant at the moment as diet control alone did not work.
best of luck

Thanks again for all the replies Short of actual medical treatment, if I do have it the treatment seems to be just diet and exercise, which I can do now which isn't doing any harm. I have a feeling I may have it, I have been beyond tired the past few months, last time it wore off after the morning sickness went and I had a boost of energy, but I seem to be getting worse and worse. My appetite has gone so I sometimes don't eat until evening, or if I am out I will get a small chocolate bar to give me a boost which has probably sent everything totally haywire! The diabetes website was great, thanks. I went on the virtual store bit which told me alternatives to things I though were actually OK - like basmati rice instead of long grain, granary bread instead of even wholemeal, new or sweet potatoes instead of normal etc. All I think the difference is during pregnancy is not to cut actual calories, and don't go for the low fat options like they sometimes suggest I think. I was pretty at the effects of TBH, I though it would only effect me and then I may have a big baby, but the risks of c -section go up (I guess due to size), stillborn, baby getting diabetes later on etc. I wish they had given me a leaflet or something though, I am so glad I didn't carry on for another 8 weeks either way if I am high risk.

I have to wait for the reasons below. If I am still tired like this and I suspect I do really have it in the next week or so I may ask if I can have anything done sooner.

i was 16 weeks when i had my test so thats why i found it bizarre that you had to wait! I controlled mine by diet alone and ds was 611b.15oz at birth. Good luck

I agree about the sonographers being not very forthcoming with info. At my 20 week scan, where I found out baby was on the larger side, it was like pulling teeth. Is everything OK, I asked. Yes everyhings fine. is baby growing OK? Yes Fine. Is it a normal size for the dates? Yes pretty much. Pretty much? Well, it is a bit on the big side. How much on the big side? Well its hard to say now, your MW will keep an eye on you. Grrrr! I didn't get offered a diabetes test at all despite MW agreeing baby still big at 28 wk check up. Seeing her it 3pm today. If she says again that its still big I will insist on one.

Anything within the range of those charts is 'normal'. It's only when baby goes off the chart that they check up on you. With my 1st baby, I had a low lying placenta at 20wks. It was when I went back for a scan at 36 wks to check the placenta that I was told baby was a biggie - his tummy circumference was off the scale. I had diabetes tests etc, and there was nothing wrong (the whole time I was saying hello I'm nearly six foot tall!). Also, I hadn't had a dating scan so wasn't sure my dates were right.
At 36 weeks I was told baby was around 8lbs and would be around 10lbs if born at 40 weeks. He was born at 42 weeks weighing 8lbs 4oz!
I'm not saying don't listen to advice, just don't be too alarmed.

I think head and abdomin was off the chart, or at least above 98th. Thigh length was just above the middle. That added with the fact I am err... pretty fat is why I guess they are doing it.

Sounds like you're doing the right things re diet etc. The fact that they always err on the side of caution with pregnancies means that you'll be well looked after.

I am currently 17 weeks and have been diagnosed with GD 2 weeks ago. My routine urine sample at clinic showed glucose +++. I was sent the next day for a glucose tolerance test at the hospital which came back to confirm that I had GD.

I check my blood 4 times daily using a blood meter and obviously watch my diet. Low GI seems to work well although fruit amd cows milk really pushes up the blood sugars!

I see a dietician and a special diabetes midwife along with an obstetrician who specialises in GD. If my blood sugar starts to climb the further along I get in my pregnancy, they'll consider putting me on insulin.

I have been told that I will deliver early - possibly C Section depending on how large the baby gets. I am down for sizing scans at my 20 week scan, 28 and 34 weeks.

This is my 4th baby and I havent had GD on the other 3. However there is a 17 year gap between this one and my youngest so it could be my age - I'm 41.

When pg with dd, I was told she looked big at my 20 week scan too, so they scanned me again, I think around 30 weeks, and she was then "normal" - although saying that, she was born a month early and weighed 6lbs6, so who knows how big she'd have been at full term.

Babies don't always grow at steady predictable rates, so may well be nothing to worry about.

I was told at my 20 week scan I would have a big/9lb baby, I am 5 foot 8 and a size 12.

I was measuring 3 weeks ahead from then onwards and kept saying told I would have a big baby, but was tested and scanned several times for GD. My dd was 9lb 6.

My friend who is just over 5 foot, size 18 before getting pregnant had a 7lb dd. Read up a bit on GD and there are some serious dangers to the baby more than being a large baby so keep pushing for as much advice as you can get and good luck.

I had all this at a scan 4 weeks ago, huge tummy circumference, well off the shaded area, big head etc. I was told to completely change my diet etc etc etc - really Pee'd me off as I had just, two days before,been told by my MW to eat all the things the consultant told me not to eat or I would make myself ill

I have just gone back (having regular scans due to other issues with the baby) having not changed my diet at all and the abd circ measurement is well within the shaded area.

Just wanted to say don't worry too much, the measurements are tricky to take and can be easily mismeasured due to the angle the baby is being viewed from etc.

I was diagnosed with GD at 28wks, prior to this my urine glucose had been pretty high anyway.
As well had testing my blood sugars 4x day, I just followed the dietary advice given to me by Diabetes MW. This was:

Swap white bread/ pasta/ rice for brown.

Beware anything 'Low Fat' as normally loaded with sugar. Especially yoghurts - I ate natural yoghurts flavoured with a bit of fruit.
Keep off the biscuits chocolate etc - that was really hard so when I was really craving a bit of chocolate used to eat a few chocolate buttons. BTW Wholemeal scones/ biscuits ok in moderation.

Beware dried fruit as this tends to be high in sugar as well - which put paid to sultanas on my Bran Flakes!

No sauces on food (boring!) but keeps the sugar content down. Try to avoid processed food, and if you need to make a sauce for e.g. pasta - do homemade ones - that way no hidden sugar.

I tended to eat small amounts very regularly (every 2-3 hours)- and load up on veg to try and fill myself up. Also tried to be as active as possible (walking, bit of housework) to bring the blood sugars down as well.

Following this meant I avoided having to go on Insulin, and to be honest felt really healthy and didn't have a huge weight gain which I did in first pg.

Baby weighed in at 8lb 13ozs