Most women with gestational diabetes can make it to their due dates safely and begin labor naturally. In some cases, though, gestational diabetes could change the way you feel or how your baby is delivered. Again, keep in mind that just because you have gestational diabetes does not mean that you will have any change in delivery. Talk to your health care provider about ANY concerns you have about labor or delivery.
If you have gestational diabetes, there are some things you should keep in mind about delivery:
- Blood Sugar and Insulin Balance—Keeping your blood sugar level under control during labor and delivery is vital to your own health and to your baby's health. If you do not take insulin during your pregnancy, you probably won't need it during labor or delivery. If you do take insulin during your pregnancy, you may receive an insulin shot when labor begins, or you may get insulin through a thin, plastic tube in your arm that goes into your bloodstream during labor.
- Early Delivery—Gestational diabetes puts women at higher risk than women without the condition for developing preeclampsia (pronounced pree-ee-KLAMP-see-uh), late in their pregnancies. Preeclampsia is a condition related to a sudden blood pressure increase; it can be a serious. (For more information on preeclampsia, go to the Your health care provider might also tell you to: Have your blood pressure checked as indicated section of this booklet.) The only way to cure preeclampsia is to deliver the baby; but delivery may not be the best option for your health or for the health of the baby. Your health care provider will keep you under close watch, possibly at the hospital, and will run multiple tests to determine whether early delivery is safe and needed. Your health care provider will give you more information about early delivery, should it be necessary.
- Cesarean Delivery—This is a type of surgery used to deliver the baby, instead of natural delivery through the vagina. Cesarean delivery is also called a cesarean section, or "C" section. Simply having gestational diabetes is not a reason to have a C section, but your health care provider may have other reasons for choosing a cesarean delivery, such as changes in your health or your baby's health during labor.
