c/p: GD test

~adamwife~

https://community.thebump.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/44666397.aspx

Anyone else go to a midwife that doesn't require the GD test?  I was kind of surprised that there weren't more women with MWs that are opting out of the test.

I have to laugh at the amount of fear-mongering in this post. 

 

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sschwege

My MWs did this test on everyone and I think that's pretty common now.  I guess I don't understand why someone would opt out of this test.  To my knowledge there is no risk associated with it.  I am all about a "less is more" approach to pregnancy (I only had one u/s, turned down all genetic testing, had zero interventions during my DD's birth, etc.), but I had this test done.

pinksweetpea2

My MW offers all tests, but didn't think it was necessary for me- I had none of the markers.  The test is nasty (not really something I want to put in my body unless necessary) and actually comes back with a lot of false positives.  I don't know if that is a bad thing because usually that just means that the Mama in question has to eat healthier, but it does make it difficult at the end of the pregnancy if the Mama wants to avoid inductions, unnecessary c-sections, etc. 

MW (and I am not talking about medwives) approach pregnancy different than OBs.  There is a lot more focus on the preventative, rather than waiting around to see what happens and then treating the problem.  At least with my MW there was a lot of discussion about diet and exercise.  All my apts. were at my home and she was free to go through my fridge and pantry.  We discussed what I ate all the time.    GD CAN be prevented through the proper diet in some cases- despite what the fear mongers would tell you.

I also just think MW pay attention more to their patients- take more time with them.  My appts. were at least an hour long each time and when she said that I had none of the markers, I believed her because she spent so much time with me.  I would have not felt the same way about the medwives practice I was seeing before switching.  

That post is very typical and one of the reasons I am glad that this board is around for my next pregnancy and child.  You don't know how many times I got called nuts for my views/choices.  LOL  

I did find it funny when some of the posters implied that other countries maternity systems were flawed because the GD test is not standard.  LOL  I wish someone had pointed out that those said countries also have much lower infant and mother mortality rates.

 

~adamwife~

pinksweetpea2:

MW (and I am not talking about medwives) approach pregnancy different than OBs.  There is a lot more focus on the preventative, rather than waiting around to see what happens and then treating the problem.  At least with my MW there was a lot of discussion about diet and exercise.  All my apts. were at my home and she was free to go through my fridge and pantry.  We discussed what I ate all the time.    GD CAN be prevented through the proper diet in some cases- despite what the fear mongers would tell you.

I totally agree with this.  My MW has me on a strict diet and I have to chart what I eat every day, as well as chart my exercise.  She will also go through my fridge and pantry during home visits and is free to do so.  75% of my one-hour prenatal visits center around discussing my diet and activity level.

It's not just maternity care in our country that is out of control with the fear-mongering.  It's healthcare in general.  I wish more healthcare practitioners would focus on REAL preventative care and start including more homeopathic/natural medical advice in their practices.  I am grateful that we have advances in medicine available in case we need them, but I feel like medicine is often times unnecessary if the proper precautions are taken through diet and lifestyle choices.  I just hate to see so many people living in fear of poor health and spending fortunes on unnecessary medical testing when they could be getting the same, if not better, outcomes by trusting their bodies and taking care of them the way God intended.

duncanpowers

My m/ws do require it, but it's a meal rather than glucola. I found it pretty educational actually because you could look through their meal requirements and see how much protein and how many carbs were in each item and adjust accordingly. When a little glucose showed up on my weekly tests later, I was able to look back at what I'd been eating for breakfast on those days and realized I was carb loading; that way I could adjust my own diet and the trace disappeared immediately.

I really think it would be better for doctors to take that approach over all rather than putting everyone through the glucola challenge. On top of it, they rarely have a consistent prep method, ie fasting or no fasting, water or no water, morning or afternoon, etc. All 3 things make a difference in the results, and yet it seems to be different with every doctor, which is ridiculous.

andrea922

pinksweetpea2:

I did find it funny when some of the posters implied that other countries maternity systems were flawed because the GD test is not standard.  LOL  I wish someone had pointed out that those said countries also have much lower infant and mother mortality rates.

 

I am one of the posters who mentioned that I had my son in the UK where it is not standard to have the GD test. I hope I didn't come across as sounding like it was flawed, I think it proves a huge point that in the US everyone thinks they have to have one, yet in Canada and the UK, 2 also medically advanced countries, it is not mandatory. I did have one, but that is because I asked and they don't make you drink anything, it is a blood test only after fasting.

You can't point out anything over there without everyone (and some in particular) jumping down the path of how horrible midwives are. It makes me sad that so many women don't understand how midwifery works.

funchicken

duncanpowers:

I really think it would be better for doctors to take that approach over all rather than putting everyone through the glucola challenge. On top of it, they rarely have a consistent prep method, ie fasting or no fasting, water or no water, morning or afternoon, etc. All 3 things make a difference in the results, and yet it seems to be different with every doctor, which is ridiculous.

ITA about this.  In my last pregnancy my m/w did not want me to fast.  I ate a normal breakfast, took the test a couple hours later, and passed with no problem.  This time I'm supposed to fast for 8 hours beforehand--so weird.

JoelsGirl07

My "med-wife" did it, my MWs will not. I'm happy about it because that was AWFUL. Especially the 3 hour....I almost passed out several times.

ncbelle

That post is full of lame.  I don't mind the test and plan to have it (although I'm not sure what my midwives do for it as I wasn't with them last time).

I do agree though that more attention should be paid to diet and exercise - of course those things can't 100% prevent GD or any other complications, but they sure go a long way towards at least lessening the impacts of them.

makclair

I can't believe I just read that whole post. I find the funniest part to be that the poster Emjay claims to be a nurse, yet she's totally wrong on what causes Gestational DM.

She states women have GDM because "their pancreas doesn't make enough insulin" when anybody could tell you that GDM is due to impaired glucose tolerance and hormonal changes.

Bah. 

spark&echo

No, my midwife didn't make me take the test.  

I guess I'm going to go read that post now.  I'm sure it's a trainwreck... 

TheQuietGrrrl

makclair:

She states women have GDM because "their pancreas doesn't make enough insulin" when anybody could tell you that GDM is due to impaired glucose tolerance and hormonal changes.

Bah. 

Umm it's actually both.  Hormones cause the impaired glucose tolerance via insulin resistance, pancreas must upregulate more insulin to keep up (more molecules needed to do the same work).  Some women manage to upregulate, others not so much.

 

pepomntpat

I am just confused why people are so up in arms about her BFing a two year old.  I don't personally agree with skipping the GTT, but I think five pages of reactions is a little over the top.

RayRay007

andrea, pinksweetpea, and adamwife, I agree. And Emjay. Oh boy. I am never going to get into it with her because there is no changing her mind, but I really hope that other readers have enough intelligence to question her.

I got through page 1 and gave up. That post is so full of fear-mongering and small-mindedness. I won't be getting the test (unless circs change) and not because I don't want to drink gross stuff or get my blood drawn. It's because I don't want to medically micromanage my pg and look for pathology where there is none. And I want to focus on preventative health measures and taking care of myself rather than taking a reactive approach.

LindseyJW

pinksweetpea2:

My MW offers all tests, but didn't think it was necessary for me- I had none of the markers.  The test is nasty (not really something I want to put in my body unless necessary) and actually comes back with a lot of false positives.  I don't know if that is a bad thing because usually that just means that the Mama in question has to eat healthier, but it does make it difficult at the end of the pregnancy if the Mama wants to avoid inductions, unnecessary c-sections, etc. 

MW (and I am not talking about medwives) approach pregnancy different than OBs.  There is a lot more focus on the preventative, rather than waiting around to see what happens and then treating the problem.  At least with my MW there was a lot of discussion about diet and exercise.  All my apts. were at my home and she was free to go through my fridge and pantry.  We discussed what I ate all the time.    GD CAN be prevented through the proper diet in some cases- despite what the fear mongers would tell you.

I also just think MW pay attention more to their patients- take more time with them.  My appts. were at least an hour long each time and when she said that I had none of the markers, I believed her because she spent so much time with me.  I would have not felt the same way about the medwives practice I was seeing before switching.  

That post is very typical and one of the reasons I am glad that this board is around for my next pregnancy and child.  You don't know how many times I got called nuts for my views/choices.  LOL  

I did find it funny when some of the posters implied that other countries maternity systems were flawed because the GD test is not standard.  LOL  I wish someone had pointed out that those said countries also have much lower infant and mother mortality rates.

 

every word of this. except the appointments at home and going through the fridge. my appointments were at my MWs home. 

i'll also add that when i asked about this during my second pregnancy on this board, i got my share of "WTF are you even considering not taking it" responses. not all of us NB mamas are so open to discussion on this topic.

if we decide to have another child, and i'm still wtih the same MW, i will likely opt out of that screening test, for the reasons stated by RayRay07 above.

ETA: just read a few of the responses. it's bad enough that there is so much ignorant MW bashing, it's worse that most of the women didn't know what they were talking about, but what really makes me sad is how angry and negative they are while pregnant. their babies deserve a happier place than that. if they are this angry and full of negativity while pregnant, i can't imagine what kind of environment they will provide for their outside baby. but i guess getting checked for GD is much more important. :S

flowerchild77

RayRay007:

I got through page 1 and gave up. That post is so full of fear-mongering and small-mindedness. I won't be getting the test (unless circs change) and not because I don't want to drink gross stuff or get my blood drawn. It's because I don't want to medically micromanage my pg and look for pathology where there is none. And I want to focus on preventative health measures and taking care of myself rather than taking a reactive approach.

ANd THIS is an excellent reason why Ive decided not to get it done. Im the OP of that post.

Its not that my midwife brought up skipping the test- when I went to get my bloodwork done I was told by the plebotomist there were also orders in for me to get the GTT, after looking into it I decided it wasnt really neccesary for me. So I asked my midwife if it was neccesary, she knows my background, nutritional history and how I eat. Im vegetarian and dont eat junk food or processed sugars. That paired with my age, family history, and prior pregnancy history do NOT put me at a high risk of developing GD. WIth my dd I passed teh 1 hour just fine. Numbers PERFECT. With thios babe, I have no rapid weight gain, no incredibly thirstiness after a card filled meal, and baby's weight measured right on at each u/s. My midwife did say they would keep track of my sugars in my urine and if it seems like Im throwing urine or have a rapid weight gain they would give me a machine to track track of my blood sugar.

Its not like Im ignorant on GD. I know what Im looking out for, I know what it can do, and as a grown, thinking adult decided I can take my health into my personal responsibility and opt out of a test me and my midwife dont feel is neccesary for me.

Ive only read the first page on the thread. But as far as the comments about my nursing whie pregnant or nursing my toddler, you can obviously tell they are uneducated and close minded on the whole thing.

ckolak:-)

My MWs require it. I was hoping to be able to weasel my way out and just start monitoring my sugars at 25 weeks with this one, but I don't think they're going to let me. I may suggest it again at my appointment later this week, but we'll see. Given that most women have no symptoms of GD, I think everyone should take it. I had it with my son and DID have symptoms, and yes the test sucks but I am glad I did it and was able to control my GD. I do have a family history (paternal grandmother had GD with her 3rd and 4th, then developed Type 2 diabetes) so I wasn't surprised to develop it myself.

lauralovesbob

I saw that post and didn't comment because it seemed like it was going on too long already. I felt a little bad for not jumping in to defend my midwives.

I much prefer the reasonable "do the research and decide for yourself" attitude on this board than the name-calling and scary misinformation sometimes thrown around elsewhere. It's dangerous how a little bit of knowledge can be extrapolated into an encyclopedia of alarmist know-it-all attitude.