During your pregnancy, you're probably doing everything you can to stay healthy for your unborn baby. Because your behaviors and well-being can directly affect your baby's development, it's important to maintain good nutrition, follow your doctor's recommendations, and undergo necessary examinations and tests as your pregnancy progresses. One of the tests you will undergo, probably around your 20th week of pregnancy, is a gestational diabetes test. This test screens you for the type of diabetes that can develop about halfway through pregnancy, and which, if left untreated, can cause serious pregnancy complications. Consider some dietary guidelines before your gestational diabetes screen.
Step 1
Maintain a healthy diet. Good nutrition is crucial during pregnancy. Even if you were overweight before becoming pregnant, pregnancy is not the time to diet for weight loss. Concentrate on eating balanced meals and snacks composed of nutritious foods from the major food groups, including fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products and lean proteins.
Step 2
Eat normally in the days before your initial gestational diabetes screen. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, no specific dietary preparation is required before this initial screen. Consume healthy, high-nutrient, low-fat meals and snacks, avoiding "junk" foods that do not provide nutrition for you and your growing baby.
Step 3
Fast overnight, per your physician's instructions, if you need to undergo the secondary gestational diabetes test. This test, called the glucose tolerance or glucose challenge test, is indicated if your first diabetes screen is positive. Before the follow-up test, you will fast overnight so your blood glucose level can be measured upon fasting and then once an hour for three hours after drinking a high-glucose liquid. It's important to follow your physician's fasting instructions precisely to be sure your gestational diabetes test is accurate.
