TRANSCRIPT OF ANSWER
When you have gestational diabetes and you come to the hospital, you should expect regular blood sugar checks throughout your labor process, depending on how bad your diabetes is. Sometimes you might be started on an insulin drip to keep your blood sugars in control. And the other thing is when you do deliver that, you want to feed your baby within a certain amount of time after delivery and then your baby will be checked for their blood sugars after the baby’s born. You want your blood sugar anywhere between 60 and 120. They say anything over 120, it goes straight to the baby. If you’re not eating, it’s usually on a scheduled time. So depends on who your provider is. Sometimes it’s every four hours, sometimes it’s every six hours. Usually, in active labor it can even be every two hours for your blood sugar checks. Once you’ve delivered or even before you delivered and you are in the hospital, it’s based around you’re eating, so you get one of fasting one before you eat, an hour after you eat. And then when it in the evening, like around 9:00 and sometimes even at night, like around 3:00 in the morning. When you have diabetes and in the hospital and you’re laboring, usually you’re not allowed to eat, but a lot of times some hospitals or providers will allow you to have clear liquids. And usually those will be the sugar-free diet sodas, Diet Sprite, sprite, zero sugar, free popsicles, anything that does not have sugar. If we need to replace your sugar, usually it’s through your iv fluids in your iv, you would get a sealing solution when you have diabetes during Labor. If your blood sugar drops, then sometimes we will replace your sugar with a dextrose fluid. The dextrose keeps your blood sugar at a stable level during the labor process. Talk to your provider asks what you would expect with your diabetes in the hospital. Every provider is different. Every hospital is different. These are just some things to expect as far as blood sugar checks getting dexterous through your iv. Your baby getting blood sugar checks after delivery. Every hospital, every provider’s different. So just ask prenatally before you go into the hospital, what to expect with your diabetes.
