How to prevent diabetes after pregnancy

The gestational diabetes You have a great risk during pregnancy. A lack of control implies future problems, both for the baby and the mother: a high weight of the newborn and a greater predisposition to the mother suffering from type 2 diabetes. Therefore, maintaining good habits after pregnancy is key to prevent this diabetes reappear after giving birth.

The risks of gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes involves a great risk during pregnancy because, if it is not controlled, it can behave differently pathologiesas spontaneous abortions, a high birth weight or a greater predisposition to obesity.

The latest data indicate that 66 percent of the children of mothers with diabetes gestational will suffer obesity in the future. However, consequences for the mother They are quieter and equally important: due to the increase in blood sugar, the mother can develop high blood pressure, increasing the risk of cardiovascular problems and, if she does not control her weight or adopt good lifestyle after giving birth, diabetes gestational may end up causing you type 2 diabetes.

Recent studies raise the alarm about the high number of cases of gestational diabetes, 208,000 each year, detected in Europe. Figures that increase, according to the latest research, because more and more women of childbearing age suffer obesity (21.1% in Spain), among other causes. For this reason, good habits during pregnancy are essential to avoid future problems.

The importance of good habits after pregnancy

Faced with this situation, weight loss and the incorporation of healthy life habits After childbirth, they are increasingly necessary to prevent the appearance of type 2 diabetes permanently in mothers.

The type 2 diabetes It is the most common within this disease. It lasts a lifetime and is characterized by high levels of blood sugar developing what is called insulin resistance. In general, most people with this disease are overweight at the time of diagnosis as it is the increase in fat, among other things, which hinders the body's use of insulin correctly.

This makes taking care after the delivery is really important, since losing weight and adopting a lifestyle that returns blood sugar levels to normal, can prevent gestational diabetes from becoming permanent type 2 diabetes.

Although after giving birth blood sugar levels usually return to normal, we must try to avoid risks, especially if you suffer from overweight in the abdominal area. Precisely, the fat accumulated in the belly is the cause of type 2 diabetes and, in addition, is the type of fat that increases with a pregnancy. Therefore, a good alternative to avoid type 2 diabetes is to establish breastfeeding, a natural method by which the mother lowers the level of fat, and adopt a healthy lifestyle that stabilizes sugar levels.

In the hands of a doctor

Although it is in the mother's hands to begin leading a healthy life during and after pregnancy, the best option is to put yourself in the hands of a doctor and perform an analysis to determine if you have type 2 diabetes or if you are still in a state of pre-diabetes, to mark what type of treatment is most appropriate. In case diabetes or prediabetes status is confirmed, it is advisable to choose a specific weight loss treatment for diabetics and lose weight by reducing visceral fat.

Patricia Núñez de Arenas