Diabetes: How to prevent disease in pregnancy

Hyderabad: India has achieved the dubious distinction of being the diabetes capital of the world. With Type-2 diabetes already assuming epidemic proportions, the government is now focusing on the need to prevent disease during pregnancy.

Addressing the annual conference of DIPSI (Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group of India), union minister of state for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh said: “In an alarming situation like this, unless we can effectively prevent the occurrence of diabetes in pregnant women, it may not be possible to break the chain of Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus getting passed on from generation to generation and thus affecting the future generations.”

Need to prevent gestational diabetes

“It is a well-known fact that a woman who gets gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is likely to pass on to her progeny a higher preponderance to develop Type-2 diabetes and that too at a relatively younger age,” said Dr. Singh, who is a founder-member of DIPSI.

Dr. Singh is also a member of the team, which had laid down the WHO-recognised guidelines for the treatment of diabetes in pregnancy,

The minister also appreciated renowned diabetologist Dr. V Seasiah. Around half a century ago, Dr. V Seshiah and his team had come out with their recommendation of conducting a ‘Spot Test’ for blood sugar in every pregnant woman and today a ‘Single Procedure Test in Pregnancy’ developed by the same team has been accepted worldwide as reliable and effective for future management.

“Dr. Seshiah has now moved on to primordial prevention of diabetes in pregnant women. The success of this will not only help in controlling the epidemic of diabetes in India but would also ensure the health and well-being of the youth whose energy and productivity are crucial for the future of the country,” said Dr Singh.

Obesity main cause

“In two to seven percent of pregnant women, especially from urban areas, we observe gestational diabetes and most of these women are obese or quite overweight,” said Dr. L Sudarshan Reddy, senior general physician at Yashoda Hospital.

Risk factors

“Obesity, family history of diabetes, a previous delivery where the baby had been overweight and age of pregnant mother over 30 years are the significant risk factors of which obesity is most common nowadays. Also, some women have pre-diabetic conditions present, which can be found by a simple blood test,” Dr. Reddy said,

Complications

Usually, when the mother is diabetic, pregnancies turn out to be fraught with complications. The babies are of bigger than average size, approximately over eight pounds (fetal macrosomia), and therefore a Caesarian section delivery would be required. Also, such babies may develop hypoglycemia post-birth and have high chances of developing diabetes later in life irrespective of their gender, said Dr. Reddy.

Can be controlled

The doctor added that if diabetes develops post-delivery, it can be kept under control with medication, diet, and lifestyle modification.

“It is seen that most women who have gestational diabetes develop Type 2 diabetes later in life. However, some women may not develop it if they take measures to control gestational diabetes and lead an active lifestyle, eat a healthy diet, and shed extra weight promptly post-delivery to prevent diabetic conditions from aggravating. In general, women must keep their body mass index (BMI) under control, opt for a healthy diet, avoid eating junk food and outside food, quit smoking, minimize alcohol intake, and engage in regular physical activities to reduce the risk of developing gestational diabetes,” he said.