I got an email a couple of months ago from an old friend who’d discovered she had gestational diabetes (pregnancy diabetes). I have mixed feelings about gestational diabetes really. Mainly I feel sorry for the women who get it, because they don’t usually find out until they’re between 24 and 28 weeks through their pregnancy. All of a sudden they’ve got this condition which could seriously affect their baby’s health and they have to deal with all of the fear and hassle and complication of injections and blood tests and all of that stuff we all take in our stride – as if being pregnant wasn’t enough of a condition to be careful of. It must be a real shock for the poor women. Then, if I’m honest, there’s another part of me that is pretty jealous: firstly the gestational diabetic doesn’t have to go through that worrying first trimester with diabetes, which is when the really serious damage can occur. Secondly – in most cases the gestational diabetic gets to have their baby and wave goodbye to the diabetes (albeit with a higher risk of type two later in life): something us type ones will never get the chance to hope for (well, I still hope for it via the research which is going on in the world). But as I say, I mostly feel sad when anyone I knows gets diabetes – it’s not a tragedy of course like someone getting something terminal, but you just feel for them because you know their life is about to get way more complicated.

Anyway – my friend is having her baby any day now (good luck Hils!) and I can’t wait to meet the little fella. I asked her to write me a piece about her journey with diabetes for the blog, and she sent me the piece below. I nearly cried at the end of it, I just thought it was really lovely and had heartfelt sentiments in it.

Well it is coming to the end of my run with Gestational Diabetes. One more week to go…I feel very lucky that I am able to say that as I realise this is not the case with other people with diabetes.

At first the shock of being told I have gestational diabetes was frustrating as I don’t eat badly…I am not over weight…I exercise (kind of!)…but what is important to remember with GB, and that I have learnt along the way, is that it is another thing that can be blamed on those lovely pregnancy hormones. The guilt I felt was terrible though, as nobody wants to think they have put their baby in any harm intentionally.

Since being diagnosed I have met with nurses, doctors, nutritionists, and obstetricians, all here to ensure my baby is healthy and to make me feel extremely guilty for any cake or pizza I might think about eating! For a first pregnancy, the fuss and routine check ups on my baby are reassuring and pretty cool. Not everyone gets to have as many scans as I have had and constant reassurance on my baby’s well being.

At first, to be honest, pricking my finger 4 times a day was a little bit of a novelty. Especially when the readings were all good and my diet was under control. Then comes the weekend. This is when I start to feel guilt as the occasional over eating happens and my readings sky rocket. I am happy to admit that this didn’t happen too often and has not affected my baby’s size (she says before delivery!)
I have managed to control my GB through diet and exercise and understand that this is not always the case with everybody. It is important to remember that if insulin is needed it is not a sign of failure but it’s about what is best for your baby and that is all that matters.

I have one of the best incentives to stay fit and healthy for the rest of my life, as I am now a high risk for type 2 diabetes. It is very likely that I will have GB in my next pregnancies but is something I  know I can deal with.
All I want is the same as everybody else in the world. A healthy baby. If that means making sacrifices, then so be it. That’s what motherhood is all about!

I am booked into hospital next week to be induced and I will be 39+6 weeks. Once again I am very lucky to have gone full term and have had no other complications from GB. It would be great to avoid induction or, worst case scenario, a cesarean section, but as I have said before, I will do anything to ensure a healthy baby, as any mother would.

To constantly have to think about food and whether it is doing my baby any harm is exhausting and something I look forward to leaving behind. I have a new understanding of how hard it is for diabetics on a daily basis and how sometimes those readings just don’t make sense no matter how much you try to analyse them!

I will keep you posted on how the birth goes. The hardest bit is yet to come! I can’t wait to meet our beautiful (average sized!) baby boy.