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Natural Birth
punkrockabye
member
Any gestational diabetes success stories?
punkrockabye
member
As expected I have been diagnosed with GD. I'm being seen about it in a week and apparently my numbers were high enough that it looks like insulin is in my future. None of the shots/monitoring/etc bother me, I'll do what I need to do and I'm great with needles. But it hit me that this really, really does not bode well for my med/intervention free birth plan.
Does anyone have any success stories for me? As an added, uh, bonus, I'm at a higher risk of developing pre-e than the average woman, too. It looks like now that I'm halfway done cookin' this little kiddo, the odds are starting to stack up against me 
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Re: Any gestational diabetes success stories?
I had pretty serious GD - I had to give myself insulin 5 times a day prior to LO's arrival! My midwife was VERY supportive of my natural birth plans, and she was happy to let me go to 41 weeks before bringing up the induction talk. She was a midwife within a gynecology group, so she had an OB backing her up, and they were fine with it as well.
My birth was med-free and pretty much as perfect as I could have hoped for. It happened at 40 weeks. My MW stripped my membranes because I wanted to avoid having to think about induction if at all possible and that put me into labor within <24 hours.
And LO's birth was in a hospital, so it is possible! You just need to know all your options and be with a provider that supports your decisions. You also need the research to back you up. There has been NO research that supports induction d/t insulin dependent diabetes. I spent a lot of time on Pubmed reading medical articles to that effect.
I was terrified from the minute I found out about the GD that I was going to have an intervention heavy birth, but I knew what I wanted, I educated myself, and it went PERFECTLY.
You can do it! I was GD, only thankfully I didn't end up on insulin, I was on an oral med, and after that my numbers were low. I had to be induced bc I was just shy of 40 wks and my BP was creeping up and the OB (who I loved) thought me staying pregnant wasn't going to be a good thing and increase the risk of more harm than good.
Being confined to bed and monitored sucked, but I was really lucky in that once my water broke I was only in labor for about 3 hrs, and while they were the most intense 3 hrs of my life, it was totally worth it. I know there are lots of horror stories about pitocin contractions, but for me, they were 100%manageable. Best of luck for a happy and healthy remainder of your pregnancy and an easy deliver!
Thanks, ladies!
I hope to get a feel about what this clinic thinks about induction at my appointment on Wednesday. It's a clinic at a hospital and I can be seeing one of MANY students/MDs depending on who is working that day, and during appointments they leave to consult with the attending docs who are on duty each day before returning to the patients. I never get to see the actual doctors since an unfortunate turn of events/huge problems has left me with Medicaid until after I deliver.
I've already proven myself to be the problem patient who knows as much as some of the students and isn't afraid to immediately back up her opinions and ides with research that she already knows. They're used to teen moms and high school dropouts, and here I am with a graduate degree and a HUGE love of research.
My knee jerk guess is that they're not going to like the fact that I want to avoid induction. Of course induction is quicker and easier for them, especially if it leads to a c/s. They've already used the "baby could die" argument on me in trying to get me to make an appointment for one week from now instead of two. Well, what happens to the babies of moms who develop GD and find out at the normal time of ~28 weeks? Surely GD didn't kick in the day of their glucose tolerance test. It didn't faze me, and I just said I'll take the early appointment only if my husband can get off work (which we worked out), and until then I know how I should be eating to accommodate GD.
Although at my last appointment I did mention, briefly, my birth plan. Mainly wondering when they like to have them and discuss them because I am going to be picking a doula sometime next month. The student asked me what I was considering for it so I gave a basic rundown, she went and talked to the actual doctors, and she simply came back and said that they work with birth plans all the time so whenever I can get it to them is fine, and it'll be good for me to also bring it up closer to delivery and of course bring it when I come in to deliver. So, that was comforting, at least.
I've felt on edge with this practice since my first appointment where it was assumed I didn't know where babies came from, my husband was reacted to with shock ("wow, it's great when the partners are involved!" well no crap, my partner of a decade kind of wants the child that we planned!), and I had to kind of set the record straight and let them know that as they try to dumb facts down to me, it actually makes it confusing, so using actual medical terms and talking to me like an adult is going to be the best idea ("do you know what high blood pressure and preeclampsia are?")
This hospital in general seems to be very supportive of NB. The doula organization I'm talking to said it's a very good place for me to be. And, of course, it's a teaching hospital; my experience once I arrive to deliver will not be different from anyone else's in general. I'll also most likely be going in a few times a week toward the end of my pregnancy and that means I'd have to be seen by the standard MFM practice, since the "clinic" is held one day a week.
I'm just very used to NEEDING to be on the defense so this new development is very concerning to me. I still have access to journal databases through my grad school's library so I think I'm going to first gauge things at my appointment, ask some questions, and then start arming myself.
blog! thescenery.net
If I may say, try not to be TOO defensive. I am like you - I was on the defensive immediately, especially with the diagnosis of GD. I also have an advanced degree (doctorate in the medical field), and I was very insulted by the way the diabetes educator talked to me. I didn't need glucose metabolism and insulin secretion explained to me, as I deal with it all the time in my patients. That being said, I was defensive because I felt like I knew everything and felt like other people needed to know that
When I calmed down, I was a little less defensive.
So, be patient with these people. The vast majority of the clients they work with DON'T know what pre-e and hypertension are, so they have to explain it pretty slowly and carefully. It's not personal.
As you said, you're educated, you're doing your research. You will not be able to find support of induction for insulin dependent diabetes. I was not. Nor could my endocrinologist provide me with any. She was amazing, btw. If you can find a good endocrinologist, I would highly recommend having her manage you - if possible.
*lurking*
And a little late to your post! I have had GD in all my pregnancies so far. Luckily, I have been able to control my levels through food (though this one may prove me wrong as we get farther along).
With my first I went into labor on my own at 37 weeks and once I got to the hospital (with just period cramps) we found out I was 7cm along. In 3 hours DD was here (without an epi and only about 15 mins of pushing). It was a great experience. DD had no sugar issues afterwards.
With my 2nd I was having hypertension issues (luckily no pre-e) and my OB decided to induce at 39+1 weeks due to both issues (sometimes my bp would really get up there and even when resting it would bounce around during the day. I had a couple really high spikes - once it was around 168/110 - and I was thrown into the hospital 2 different times over it.).
At that point we didn't know how big DD was because my last growth scan was at 35 weeks. I dialated just fine but started to slow down at 8/9 cm (nurses said I was 9, doc said 8). They noticed DD had still not come down at all. She was still in the highest position. They allowed me to push to see if I could bring her down but she wouldn't budge and her heartrate showed fluctuations while I was pushing so we did a c/s. She came out at 9lbs 6oz and though i'm not a small girl she had grown too big to come down for me. Her sugar did drop a little that night and she had to be rechecked a few more times. The nurse had reassured me they had just changed the levels they want the babies at and though she was under the level, she was still in the previous OK range so I didn't worry too much.
Wishing you the best! It's completely possible to still go natural with GD!