At 24 weeks of pregnancy or later, get one gestational diabetes screen; do not skip it because drinking the sugar water is a bother
Grade AMedium benefitLifespanLow costLittle timeNo willpower
Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that appears only after pregnancy begins. After 24 weeks, half a morning of drinking sugar water and several blood draws can find it. If you neither screen nor manage it, the risks of a fetus that grows too large, difficult birth, a cesarean, preeclampsia, and newborn low blood sugar all go up.
- Benefit
- The US Preventive Services Task Force gives a Grade B recommendation: screen pregnant people without symptoms (no felt discomfort) for gestational diabetes at 24 weeks or later. Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that appears only after pregnancy begins. When only one screen is done, that one should be at 24 weeks or later. On screening before 24 weeks, the Task Force concludes that current evidence is insufficient to judge benefits and harms (Grade I). Untreated gestational diabetes raises the risks of macrosomia (a fetus that grows too large), difficult birth, cesarean, preeclampsia, and newborn hypoglycemia
- Notes
- Per the US Preventive Services Task Force, after a diagnosis people usually start with exercise, diet changes, and blood sugar checks; insulin or oral drugs come only if sugar stays uncontrolled. Do not skip this screen because you fear needing injections. Recheck blood sugar after birth: the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about half of people who had gestational diabetes later develop type 2 diabetes
Sources · 2
- US Preventive Services Task Force (2021). Gestational Diabetes: Screening. uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/reco…
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gestational Diabetes. cdc.gov/diabetes/about/gestational-diabetes.html