Oral glucose tolerance test (GTT) is performed on pregnant women to determine if they have high levels of blood sugar in their blood. This glucose tolerance test pregnancy is done between 24th and 28th week of the pregnancy in women with low chances of the condition. However the test should be done at the earliest opportunity for those women in high risk groups.
What does the testing involve?
The test can be done after a period of fasting or with no fasting. The pregnant mother will be asked to take a drink enhanced with glucose known as Glucola.
A blood sample will be taken after one hour of taking the drink to be tested for gestational diabetes. Though some practitioners may opt not to conduct this glucose tolerance test pregnancy in some mothers, others have made it a standard procedure.
If your results are under 140mg/dL then you are considered to be normal but anything above this reading has to be subjected to further testing. If the reading is 200mg/dL and more, doctors will consider you diabetic without the need for diabetic test.
This test is safe though some mothers skeptical about what effects the glucose taken all at once will have on the baby who has not been exposed to such hog levels of sugar all at once.
If a mother considers this test as risky to the baby she may opt not to take the test or assume you have the condition and embark on taking precautions on your diet.
Some expectant mothers feel nausea and even vomit after taking the sweetened drink. This is more likely in the three hour test since the drink is sweeter.
After failing the initial test
Failing the initial one-hour test means you will have to undergo more intense tests. In the test you will be asked to take sugar enhanced food or drink after which you are tested for sugar tolerance after half an hour, an hour, two and finally three hours.
To be declared safe you must pass three successive tests of this nature. In case you fail this test the doctor will most likely send you to a nutritionist for guidance on your diet planning. You will also be required to monitor and record the level of your blood sugar.
The readings of blood sugar levels may be high in 15-23% of all tests but there is good news in that many women are found not to be diabetic even with high readings. The condition does not go beyond the term of the pregnancy in most mothers but there are some instances in which the mothers actually become diabetic after delivery.
The key aim of trying to manage gestational pregnancy is to avoid having an overgrown fetus because of the excess nutrition and thus avoid complications at the time of delivery.
The diet of the mother with gestational diabetes mainly will comprise of food that is low in fat and sugars that may lead to the presence of high blood sugars. The mother’s diet should be mainly made up of carbohydrates, fruits and green vegetables as well as water in plenty.
