Resources for patients
The New South Wales Government provides a comprehensive perimenopause and menopause toolkit for women and their partners. Sharing knowledge can help women understand the challenges, taboos, and pathways to better health and well-being.
Approximately 5% of pregnant women will develop diabetes during their pregnancy. Untreated GDM may lead to complications with your pregnancy or problems for your baby. I have provided a guide for managing gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is the result of hormonal changes that occur in all women during pregnancy. Testing blood glucose levels at certain times of the day will help determine if your exercise and eating pattern changes are keeping your levels under control. It is important to keep an accurate record, hence, I’ve included below a weekly insulin and blood glucose record to help you keep track.
Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy. About 12–14% of pregnant women will develop gestational diabetes, usually around the 24th to 28th week of pregnancy.
Many things can affect our blood glucose levels but dietary intake of carbohydrates is a major one. When carbohydrate food is eaten, it is broken down by the body into glucose (the simplest form of sugar) and released into the bloodstream.
When you are pregnant, your placenta produces hormones to help your baby grow. These hormones also block the action of insulin in your body. This is known as insulin resistance. I’ve included an instruction sheet for patient reference. This guide provides the necessary steps to managing your glucose levels and when to get help.
This fact sheet outlines the screening and diagnosis of GDM & DIP only. For investigations and diagnosis of diabetes outside of pregnancy, please refer to the Australian Diabetes Society- HbA1c for Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus guidelines (May 2023).