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High-Risk Pregnancy
rchef21
member
Measuring big??? What all does this mean?
rchef21
member
Hi
I'm new to this board. about 1 1/2 weeks ago I found out I had Gestational Diabetes, so I've been trying to change my life style and eat all the healthy foods and all that fun stuff.......
Last week I had a Dr's appt and he told me I'm measuring big....... I asked what that means, and he said when a pregnant person has GD they tend to measure bigger cus the baby gets all the sugars and everything else.......blah blah blah,
I'm just wondering if anyone else is in this situation? If so, did you go to the dr every week? Or how did you go about doing this?? I guess I don't know the questions I should be asking, I'm taking this seriously cus I don't want a huge baby, and I dont want there to be anything wrong w/ the baby or me afterwards........
Anyway, sorry for babbling! TIA
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Measuring big??? What all does this mean?
When I was pregnant with my son, I passed my GD test but I was consistently measuring big. My son turned out to be 9 lbs, 3 oz. Even though I didn't have GD, my son had all the indications of a GD baby. In addition to his size, he had glucose issues and spent 4 days in the NICU unit getting his blood sugars stabilized. The doctor was shocked I didn't have GD. It was a horrible experience to have to go to the NICU unit and see my son pricked in the heel every few hours to test his blood. He cried and cried every time.
As a result, this time I am really trying to watch my sugar intake. I know GD is about how the placenta handles insulin production but if there is anything I can do to avoid my daughter going through what my son did, I will do it- and eating sugar doesn't help.
As far as just having a large baby, I had a c-section for other reasons (pre-e) but I can't imagine having a 9 or 10 pound baby would be easy vaginally and I'm sure tearing would be more common when birthing a larger baby. One thing that I did have happen because he was so large was that he didn't have a lot of room to move inside me. As a result, he was born with a flat spot on his head - which is also common in larger babies. My son didn't have to wear a helmet but some babies have to wear a helmet for a few months so their head rounds out evenly. It's called plagiocephaly.
IUI- BFN IVF #1 -BFP! Allie is our 2nd IVF baby. Born at 36 1/2 weeks after pre-e again
Did your dr determine the baby's size through a growth u/s? At 33w4d, my LO was measuring 5lbs 10 oz (67th percentile- still average range). The tech and I've heard it here too, said that is just an estimate and that it can be off by up to 2lbs +/-. Just because you are GD does not mean that you will have a huge baby. You are just at higher risk for a larger baby. As long as the GD is well controlled through diet/ meds if needed, your baby could still very well be in the average range.
I am fortunate that my GD has been and still is diet controlled. I didn't start seeing the dr weekly until 36 weeks, but everyone's dr is different in what they want you to do. I say just keep doing what you're with watching your diet and checking your blood sugar. Are you going to meet with a diabetes specialist or nurse to discuss diabetes?
I was just diagnosed with GD a few weeks ago. Basically it means the modified diet and LOTS of close monitoring on your baby and their size. I go see a specialist (perinatoligist) every two weeks. I check my blood sugar four times a day and have to count my carbs at each meal. I had to go on glyburide (a diabetic pill) at bedtime because my fasting blood sugar number was running just above 90 (my peri wants it under 90). So I also get a non-stress test each week (twice a week starting at 32 weeks) to make sure it is not stressing her out and she is still doing okay in there. They are really just boring as you sit there strapped to a fetal heart and contraction monitor for twenty minutes. But it is nice to hear her little heartbeat and know she is doing well. I also get a growth ultrasound every four weeks to check on her size and progress. Basically if she is getting too much sugar (because my BS is high) she will get bigger and also she will produce her own insulin to counteract the extra sugar (insulin is also a growth horomone) which will cause her to get bigger too. Besides the baby beign too big (which can cause and early delivery and an increased risk for c-section) your baby can also have low blood sugar at birth (like pp mentioned) which can be mild and mean baby will need to eat right away or be very severe and need special care. I still see my regular OB every two weeks too.
To sum it all up I guess...you just need to make sure you folow ALL of the instructions from whoever is treating your GD and follow up with them as much as necessary to ensure a healthy baby.