When you reach the 28-week mark in your pregnancy, you will be given a glucose test. A glucose test is given by having you drink a sweet beverage, and then testing your blood glucose levels. Depending on the results of the test, you may discover that you are suffering from gestational diabetes. As a new mom, you likely being very careful to keep healthy during your pregnancy. Because of this, a diagnosis of gestational diabetes can feel devastating, especially if you have no history or risk factors for developing diabetes. Rest assured there is little you could have done to cause the condition. It is a condition that affects around four percent of all pregnancies, and you happened to be one of them. One reason for gestational diabetes is the hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy. The placenta produces hormones that help your baby to grow and develop. However, these hormones also affect your ability to utilize the insulin in your body. Because of this, most pregnant women’s bodies make extra insulin to help combat the affects of the placental hormones. However, in women who are diagnosed with pregnancy diabetes, the body fails to produce enough insulin. Since insulin is the hormone that breaks down sugar, this results in too much sugar in the mom’s blood. Since gestational diabetes is a condition that occurs late in the pregnancy, it does not cause birth defects in the baby. However, women who fail to follow the diabetes pregnancy diet plan will often lead to an extremely large baby. This is because the excess blood sugar in the mom’s blood is passed on to the body. Since the baby’s body does not need this sugar, it becomes fat. These babies are also sometimes born with low glucose levels. Once you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, your doctor is going to start treating your diabetes immediately. You will be put on a diabetes pregnancy diet and required exercise program. You might have to take insulin injections. Finally, you will be required to have extra monitoring by your doctor’s office to keep the diabetes in control. You need to do all that the doctor asks of you to ensure the health of both you and your baby. The good news about gestational diabetes is that it usually goes away when your baby is born. Keep in mind, however, that it is likely to happen again when you have another baby, and you may develop type 2 diabetes later in life. But sticking with your pregnancy diet and exercise plan will ensure that your baby is happy and health, which is the goal of every new mom!