Doctors test a woman's glucose tolerance as part of routine prenatal care between weeks 24 and 28 of pregnancy. This test measures how effectively the body metabolizes sugar for glucose used for energy. High glucose levels following a glucose tolerance test are an indicator of gestational diabetes, a condition that affects 4 percent of all pregnant women, according to the American Diabetes Association.
Glucose Challenge Versus Glucose Tolerance
A glucose challenge screening is the first test performed to test glucose levels during pregnancy. The test requires you drink Glucola, a sweet drink that contains 50 g of glucose. Blood drawn within an hour of drinking this solution indicates whether your body metabolized it properly. While elevated glucose levels following this test do not mean you have gestational diabetes, they do warrant another more prolonged test called the glucose tolerance test.
Testing Process
The glucose tolerance test requires fasting prior to drinking even more Glucola. Doctors will take a blood sample in order to have a baseline reading prior to drinking. Once you have finished the drink, your blood will be drawn at three hourly intervals to measure how well your body is metabolizing the glucose.
Treatment for Abnormal Results
If only one of your four glucose tolerance readings comes back abnormal, your doctor might suggest making some dietary changes before having you return for retesting. Doctors usually diagnose gestational diabetes and devise a treatment plan when two or more of the four readings come back elevated.
Gestational Diabetes
Taking proper care of yourself and following your doctor's orders are critical to ensuring your health and that of your baby. Without proper management, babies born to women with gestational diabetes can develop macrosomia, a condition that causes them to be born extremely large. Newborns with macrosomia can suffer shoulder damage during delivery, can have low blood glucose levels at birth and are at higher risk for breathing problems. They also are at risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes later in life.
