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Expert Q&A

	By Allison Gamble Nutritionist/Diet Technician Highland Park Hospital, Illinois

I have gestational diabetes and would like a chart of food values in order to plan my meals.

Gestational diabetes typically occurs between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy. Testing for gestational diabetes is important for all pregnant women, especially those who share these risk factors:

• Greater than 30 years of age
• Obesity or excessive weight gain
• Complications in previous pregnancies
• Symptoms of diabetes
• Family history of diabetes

Placental hormones alter the way insulin works, which can keep glucose, our body's source of energy, from entering the cells at a normal rate. Then our cells become starved for energy, and glucose stays in the blood, causing hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar. This puts you and the baby at risk for complications. High blood sugars can cause early births and large babies (around 10 pounds) as a result of gestational diabetes.

In general, you need to consume three meals a day, with three snacks. Snacks should follow breakfast, lunch and then one after dinner. Since the biggest gap between meals is between dinner and breakfast, that snack is really important to help prevent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) during the night. Your meals and snacks should be balanced with a source of complex carbohydrate, protein and fat. This will help you maintain your blood sugar (glucose) levels so you don't experience highs and lows.

Complex carbohydrates are pastas, grains, cereals, breads and legumes. You should be avoiding concentrated sweets like cakes, sugars, candies, etc. Concentrated sweets can cause your blood sugar to go high, and then drop low rather quickly.

Your doctor should refer you to a registered dietitian who can help plan appropriate meals to meet your pregnancy needs. If your doctor hasn't done this already, ask for a referral today! The dietitian will come up with a personalized plan for your calorie needs, and can break it down for you by telling you how many carbohydrate, protein and fat exchanges you should get at each meal. They can also give you a list of what foods fall into which food group. Good luck to you, and best wishes for a healthy pregnancy!

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