When you eat your body breaks down foods into glucose, which is used for energy. Your pancreas he hormone, insulin, is produced by your pancreas to help muscles, fat, and other cells absorb glucose for fuel. During pregnancy your body naturally becomes more resistant to insulin, which means that more glucose remains in your blood, because it isn’t being absorbed. For most moms this works just like it is supposed to. Even though your body is more resistant to the insulin and higher levels of glucose are in your blood, your pancreas reacts by producing more insulin, which is what it is supposed to do. The problem comes in when your pancreas can’t keep up with the high demand for additional insulin and more glucose builds up in your blood. Insulin doesn’t cross the placenta, but glucose does. So too much of that extra glucose in your blood, that isn’t being absorbed and used as energy, is going to your baby. That extra glucose that is more than your baby needs ends up being stored as fat. There are many risks to both you and your baby when you have gestational diabetes. This episode breaks down gestational diabetes, testing, treatment, risks, and exactly how this affects you and your baby.

Show notes: http://pregnancypodcast.com/episode144/

Thank you to Motherhood Maternity, the best resource for maternity clothes, for their support of this episode. I shopped here during both of my pregnancies and was really happy with the selection, quality, and the prices. I know it can overwhelming to think about not fitting into anything in your closet and it is 100% worth it to invest in maternity clothes. You do not have to sacrifice comfort or style when you are expecting. You can shop at your local Motherhood store or shop online and you can get 40% off one item for the month of November with the code MAMA40 when you shop online. To check Motherhood Maternity out you can visit http://pregnancypodcast.com/maternityclothes/

Thank you to Zahler for their support of this episode. Zahler makes a high quality prenatal vitamin that has the active form of folate, that I prefer after all of the research I have read on folic acid, plus it has omega 3s and DHA. This is the prenatal vitamin I take and the one I recommend. Zahler is offering an exclusive discount to listeners of the Pregnancy Podcast. To check out the vitamin and find out how you can save 25% when you buy a one month supply on Amazon go to http://pregnancypodcast.com/vitamin/

Thank you to Evenflo who makes the EveryStage car seat for their support of this episode. The EveryStage car seat is an infant seat, convertible, and booster all in one and it has 10 different positions that will keep your baby or older child safe and comfortable. Evenflo’s EasyClick latch system makes it so easy to install and move it from one car to another. When it comes to car seats safety is a huge priority for me and this seat allows kids to be rear facing longer. The EveryStage car seat is well made, safe, and so easy to use. This is the only car seat you will ever need. To check out the Evenflo EveryStage car seat and get a promo code to save 10% you can visit http://pregnancypodcast.com/carseat/