A special post on gestational diabetes in honor of International Women’s Day (March 8).
Parenting is a roller coaster ride of prideful highs and head-shaking lows, with constant fear thrown in. The fear, of course, starts before the baby is even born. Pregnancy is partially 9 months of mood swings, discomfort, and anxiety over the hope that the baby will be born 
healthy, whole, and ready to deprive you of sleep. An determining factor in the health of a baby is that of a mother while she is pregnant. As crazy as it sounds now, it wasn’t uncommon for women to smoke while pregnant in the 60’s. Obviously, that is now considered inhumane behavior. A group of researchers suggests we have more to change than just smoking.
A study by the University of Copenhagen in Denmark suggests that diabetic women are more likely to have children who develop metabolic diseases later in life. The study examined adults whose mothers had diabetes or developed gestational diabetes during their pregnancy. Those studied showed higher amounts of leptin, a protein which impacts hunger, along with larger fat cells.
The condition is called fetal hyperglycemia and it could present a major problem in the future. In 2012, 15.5 million women in America were diagnosed with diabetes and an estimated 8.1 million more people were undiagnosed. Those numbers don’t include women who developed gestational diabetes, or those whose blood sugar levels rose above-suggested levels. Ninna Schioler Hansen, who led the study, outlines the importance of blood sugar levels, “If (high blood sugar) or diabetes is present during pregnancy, our study supports the importance of aiming at normal blood glucose levels to reduce the negative impact on the cells of the unborn baby.”
Add all those numbers up. The fact that in December of 2015, America had the highest rates of diabetes of any developed country, it suggests that it may have an enormous diabetic epidemic on the horizon. That’s downright terrifying since diabetes cost America an estimated $245 billion in 2013. If the research is right, that number may continue to climb in the coming years.
Education is vital in putting an end to the waste of American lives and money. A study by Harvard estimated that 90% percent of type 2 diabetes in women are related to five controllable factors: excess weight, poor diet, smoking, lack of exercise, and alcohol use. A similar result was found in men. Some people are born with diabetes and have to make do. Hopefully, modern medicine will come through for them. For the rest, which accounts for the majority of diabetics, there are simple to steps that will help curtail one of the top 10 in leading causes of death in America.
[expand title=”References“]
American Diabetes Association. URL Link. Accessed March 8, 2017.
CBS. URL Link. Accessed March 8, 2017.
DailyMail.co.uk. URL Link. Accessed March 8, 2017.
Harvard. URL Link. Accessed March 8, 2017.
WebMD. URL Link. Accessed March 8, 2017.
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