Berta got a call from the doctor yesterday about a glucose test she took during her last visit. Apparently, her glucose level is a bit high and her red blood cell count is low. They want her to have some more tests done to make sure everything’s alright. She is also supposed to take some special iron supplement to help with any gestational anemia.
Well, the optimistic news is that 15% of the people who take the test Berta took have their tests return positive. Out of those people like Berta, 15% get positive results on the subsequent more thorough testing. So her chances are only 1 in 7 that there is a problem.
The outcome is that she would need to adjust her eating to keep her sugar levels low. Otherwise, she might need insulin injections to help her out. It’s possible that the diabetes could last beyond the pregnancy, but that’s likely only if she doesn’t monitor the problem now.
The result of having gestational diabetes is a higher birth weight for the baby. Sometimes, this increase in birth weight results in a required c-section. The success rate on c-section births is very good, and although it’s not preferred, it’s not necessarily dangerous.
The worst case scenario is really that Berta could remain diabetic after giving birth, and remain dependent on insulin. I don’t really think this is going to be an issue because she already eats properly - better than I do, anyway.
It’s odd that there are books that specify a healthy diet for a pregnant woman that are so large that Beta can’t even contemplate eating that much. Yet, if she were to eat all that the diets demand, she would surely have more problems with this diabetic nonsense than she already does.
We’re both looking forward to her next test coming back negative.
