Gestation Diabetes (RES 500 SLP)

Gestation Diabetes
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Introduction
There are a large number of research materials that is readily available on the diabetes 1 and 2. Most of the studies that have been conducted tend to lean towards the impacts that the level of insulin within the body (Webmd.com, 2014). Other than the two major types of diabetes, there is also a third type that takes place mostly during pregnancy. There is a gap of knowledge that exists on the development of this type of diabetes and the various means that one could use to prevent the occurrence or how to get treated. This paper seeks to furnish the gap of knowledge on the gestation diabetes and the various ways the patients can get assistance with the disease (Buchanan, Xiang, Kjos & Watanabe, 2007).
Gestation diabetes is common among the women especially during their pregnancy. It is estimated that at least 10% of the women population develop this condition during their pregnancy. This makes the condition one of the most common diseases among the women who is pregnant. It is also common that the disease will recur in the pregnancies that will follow. Some of the women later develop diabetes in their later years beginning at the age of 30 and above.
Diabetes is one of the most complicated diseases that affect humans. However, it can be summed up in a nutshell that the blood has higher than normal levels of sugar. Ideally in a health person, when they eat food it is broken down into glucose sugars (Setji, Brown & Feinglos, 2005). This glucose is then absorbed into the blood stream, where with the help of the insulin that comes from the pancreases, the glucose is then converted to energy. If by any chance the body does not have enough insulin hormones or it is not being produced in the right quantities, there is an accumulation of glucose in the blood.
Development
During pregnancy, there is some level of hormonal imbalance in most women. This means that the cells do not ideally respond to the insulin in the body as they should. This means that their blood sugars rise above the normal levels, given that the pancreases do not have momentous capacity to produce enough insulin (Webmd.com, 2014). It is important to note that, the blood sugars rise to high levels creating a chance to develop diabetes. This does not in any way mean that the patient has diabetes; it just means that there is a chance that the body may develop diabetes in the future. What ideally happens is that, the blood sugar mimics a diabetic person due to low insulin and high blood sugars (Buchanan, Xiang, Kjos & Watanabe, 2007). These condition place a great risk on the patients especially in the third trimester, where if not controlled may lead to gestation diabetes (Setji, Brown & Feinglos, 2005).
Technically, the baby and the mother communicate through the placenta. This is the organ that connects both the mother to the child through the umbilical cord. This means that any nutrients that are coming from the mother, with be transported through this organ at all times. However, there is a twist to the communication between the mother and the child. The placenta is also responsible for the production of some of the hormones that control the pregnancy. Some of the hormones have the effect of resisting the insulin actions. This is meant to prevent the mother from developing low blood sugar which would in turn affect the level energy at the cells level. Due to these effects, over the course of the pregnancy, the hormones increase the level of glucose intolerance. In normal circumstance the pancreases will make more insulin to counter the rising levels of the sugar in the blood, however due to other counteracting hormones, the level remains high for some time. In some cases, the pancreases has the ability to produce insulin at three time the normal level and can counter the rising sugars in the blood. In the event that the patient is not in a position to produce as much insulin as is needed to counter the rising sugars, they run a risk of developing gestation diabetes.
Associated complications
Gestation diabetes is associated with serious complication and poses a great risk to both the mother and the...