Search Results for: blog gestational diabetes and type ii diabetes

Scary Diabetes Prediction

A new study by the UnitedHealth Group’s Center for Health Reform and Modernization titled “The United States of Diabetes: Challenges and Opportunities in the Decade Ahead” predicts that by 2020 – just a mere ten years away – more than half of the American public will either have diabetes or be diagnosed as prediabetic. As someone who has a history of diabetes in her family, I find this to be a really scary finding. Both of my grandmothers were diagnosed with Type II diabetes when I was just a child. Once my father hit 55, he too was diagnosed with … Continue reading →

Treat Your Gestational Diabetes for Better Health

Did you know that around five percent of women are diagnosed with gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Unlike Type II diabetes, gestational diabetes is limited to pregnancy. You are cured once you have your baby. That does not mean that gestational diabetes is without its risks, however. You wouldn’t want to end up with an over-sized baby, for example! That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Recently I was notified of a new study coming out in the latest issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Mark Landon and a team of investigators from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National … Continue reading →

Big Baby!

I’m sure you’ve heard about the 19.2 lb baby that was born in Indonesia this past Monday. As I looked through the photos of this giant newborn, I realized he is not only much bigger than the average newborn, he is a couple pounds heavier than my 26 week old son! The average newborn weighs between 6 and 9 pounds approximately. That puts young Akbar at about triple the average size. Can you imagine cradling a 19 pound newborn in your arms? Infant carriers usually have a weight limit of about 22 pounds. This baby will quickly exceed that and … Continue reading →

My Forced Weight Loss Journey – How It Started

I used the word “forced” in the title when I guess no one can be truly “forced” to lose weight. But, let me tell you a bit about my history and why I felt this was forced. When I was younger, I was very active, but like many of us, I became more and more sedentary as the years went on. I married for the first (and only!) time at 36 and right before I turned 40, I realized if we were going to have any children, we had better get started! I was very lucky in that we got … Continue reading →

Gestational Diabetes and Type II Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is generally described as different from other types of diabetes in that it is specific to pregnancy. In the vast majority of cases, gestational diabetes begins during pregnancy and resolves on its own after the baby is born. This is in contrast to women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes prior to pregnancy who will remain diabetic after the pregnancy. New research suggests this may not always be the case. The study, published in The Lancet, suggests women with gestational diabetes have more than seven times the chance of developing type 2 diabetes than women who don’t … Continue reading →

A Link Between Gestational Diabetes and Language Delays

Gestational Diabetes is a relatively common complication of pregnancy, affecting between three and eight percent of pregnant women. Gestational diabetes has been linked to problems such as large size of the baby, a greater risk of needing interventions and birth and a higher rate of c section. For the baby, risk associated with gestational diabetes include an increased risk of developing type II diabetes later in life and a higher risk of jaundice or hypoglycemia at birth. Recent research suggests another potential long term complication. French researchers have found a link between gestational diabetes and language delays. The study was … Continue reading →