Gestational Diabetes Classes

A healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby.

• What is gestational diabetes?
• How will it affect my pregnancy?
• How do I sign up for classes?

What is gestational diabetes? Gestational diabetes affects between 2 and 5% of all pregnant women in the United States. If your doctor finds that your blood sugar level is elevated during pregnancy, you may be diagnosed with gestational diabetes – even if you have never had diabetes before. While the exact cause of gestational diabetes is not known, there are some clues. The placenta supports the baby as it grows. Hormones from the placenta help the baby develop. But these hormones may also cause insulin resistance In the mother's body. Insulin resistance makes it hard for the mother's body to use insulin. As a result, she may need up to three times as much insulin during this time.

How will it affect my pregnancy? Gestational diabetes is usually detected in women in the 24th to 28th week of pregnancy, after the baby's body has been formed, but while the baby is busy growing. Because of this, gestational diabetes does not cause the kinds of birth defects sometimes seen in babies whose mothers had diabetes before pregnancy. All pregnant women are screened by their obstetrician to determine the presence of this disorder.

Untreated or poorly controlled gestational diabetes can hurt your baby by giving the baby high blood glucose levels. This causes the baby's pancreas to make extra insulin to handle the blood glucose. Since the baby is getting more energy than it needs to grow and develop, the extra energy is stored as fat. This can lead to macrosomia, or a "fat" baby. Babies with macrosomia face health problems of their own, including damage to their shoulders during birth, and breathing problems. In addition, babies with excess insulin become children who are at risk for obesity and, later, adults who are at risk for type 2 diabetes. With education, medication, and the help of your physician, you can control gestational diabetes – a condition that usually goes away in the mother after the birth of the baby.

The gestational diabetes class is a 3-4 hour program that covers the following topics:

• Overview of Gestational Diabetes
• Blood Glucose Monitoring
• Nutritional Counseling
• Insulin Instruction if needed
• Post-pregnancy care

The cost of this program is covered by most insurances and Medicare. For those women with Medicaid, gestational diabetes training will be provided for those who will be delivering their babies at Florida Hospital as part of their delivery program.

A physician referral is required for entry into this program For more information and to register call (407) 303-2822.

Forms for Diabetes Education