Wrap Up

Blog Wrap Up

This has been an interesting journey! Having a blog.  It was a new experience and I really enjoyed every part of it.  You know, when you are working on something that is interesting, time moves fast.  The time has come when, as I am looking back, I would like to thank you for visiting my blog, posting comments, encouragements that increased our knowledge about gestational diabetes.  

Being a condition that usually appears during pregnancy, gestational diabetes is manageable.  This blog provided information about gestational diabetes and how to manage it.  The following information summarizes what was discussed in the blog:

1.      A condition that affects insulin use in the body, gestational diabetes affects women during pregnancy and usually goes away after delivery.

2.      Although gestational diabetes is temporary, its consequences may last for a lifetime.

3.      Temporary consequences such as increased discomfort during the last trimester of pregnancy and delivering the baby through C-section may be challenging for the mother prior to and after birth, especially as it may take long to heal while taking care for a newborn.  The baby also may suffer from birth trauma due to large size.

4.      Lifetime consequence includes the possibility of developing type 2 diabetes.

5.      Gestational diabetes management strategies include nutrition, physical activities and medications, if prescribed by the doctor.

As health educators, creating awareness is important in order to prevent and help women manage gestational diabetes.

This experience has helped learn more about gestational diabetes through research and also learn from your blogs.  It has been an experience worth living and as we move on, I will continue to explore more about breast cancer, food safety, disparities, bipolar disorder, diabetes, health issues, tobacco, women’s issues, and gestational diabetes.

I wish you the best!

Ahondju Umadjela

Diabetes and Neural Tube Defect

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM, 2013), besides inadequate amount of folate before conception, poor management of diabetes is a risk factor for having a child with birth defects known as neural tube defect.  The most common neural tube defects include spina bifida and anencephaly.  Spina bifida occurs when the spinal cord fails to close as it develops within the first 30 days of gestation (Spina Bifida, 2007).  Lack of spinal cord closure affects nerve impulse transmission to the lower body part, causing muscle weakness or paralysis (Spina Bifida, 2007).  This condition is also known as paraplegia and lasts for a lifetime.  The other birth defect, anencephaly, occurs when the infant is born without a brain (Anencephaly, 2010).  Infants born with spina bifida defects usually survive, but those born with anencephaly do not survive (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012).  Although the mechanism through which poorly controlled diabetes increases the risk of neural tube defect is not clearly established, researchers investigated 23 single nucleotides and found an association between the mother’s genes and the child’s susceptibility of developing neural tube defect (Lupo et al., 2012)

References

Anencephaly. (2010). In Black’s Medical Dictionary, (42^nd ed.). Retrieved from

            http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2134/entry/blackmed/anencephaly

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012b). Folic acid for healthy babies. Retrieved

            from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/orders/pdfs/GeneralPublic_Fact_Sheet508.pdf

Lupo et al. (2012). Diabetes and obesity-related genes and the risk of neural tube defect. American Journal of Epidemiology, 176, 1101-1109.  Retrieved from

            http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2835/content/176/12/1101

Spina Bifida. (2007). In Encyclopedia of Special Education: A reference for the education of children,

adolescents, and adults with disabilities and other exceptional individuals. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2134/entry/wileyse/spina_bifida

 

Reflection on Class Presentation

Presenting is one thing and watching yourself after a presentation is another.  It was interested watching the presentation video afterwards.

During the presentation, I realized how much I enjoyed talking about gestational diabetes to my audience.  It was a time of interaction that almost carried me away into the joy of presenting and having a feedback from the audience.

I learned a lot before and during the presentation.  Preparation and practice before a presentation helped. Overall, I was satisfied with my presentation. 

During physical activity session, I should have started by giving clear instructions, demonstrating what was expected from the audience, and then asking the audience to follow.  This would minimize the confusion that participants felt. Also, "music"! I wish I had music to go along with the physical activity part.

It was refreshing to receive the feedback from the audience during the presentation.  This made me feel connected to the audience.

Thank you very much for participating and for your feedback after the presentation.

Choose My Plate to Manage Gestational Diabetes

Choose My Plate to Manage Gestational Diabetes

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the center of Nutrition Policy and Promotion (CNPP), prepares helpful tools to promote healthy nutrition for all (ChooseMyPlate.gov, n.d.).  With healthy nutrition being one of the key components in managing gestational diabetes, information from ChooseMyPlate may guide pregnant women in selecting nutritious foods.

Thanks to the visual representation of a plate with different colors, indicating specific food groups, a person may plan a healthy meal with ease.  The following colors are represented on My Plate: blue, (dairy), red (fruits), orange (grains), purple (protein), and green (vegetables) (ChooseMyplate.gov, n.d.).  In order to include all food groups, it is better to divide the items on the plate, by using half of the plate for each color/food, with one third of the plate filled with vegetables.  In addition to using the plate, the is an eight ounce cup of milk.  By using My Plate as a tool to build a nutritious plate on a daily basis, pregnant women will obtain a variety of nutrients from food.

For more information, please go to http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/      

References

ChooseMyPlate.gov (n.d.). About us. Retrieved from http://www.choosemyplate.gov/about.html

Preeclampsia: Another Health Problem

Preeclampsia: Another Health Problem

Besides higher possibility of developing type 2 diabetes after pregnancy, women who have gestational diabetes may also develop preeclampsia during pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2010).  Similar to diabetes, preeclampsia is a health condition that appears during pregnancy; its main characteristic includes elevated blood pressure (Preeclampsia Foundation [PF], 2013).  When the heart pumps blood, pumped blood creates a pressure against the wall of the arteries, which may rise and lead to high blood pressure (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [NHLB], 2012). Blood pressure is measured with a high blood pressure meter (electronic or manual) and expressed as a fraction.  The numerator (number on top of the fraction) is called diastolic and the denominator (number at the bottom of the fraction) is the diastolic.  Systolic is the blood pressure when the heart pumps blood and diastolic is the pressure when the heart relaxes (NHLBI, 2013).  The NHLBI (2013) considers a normal blood pressure to have a systolic of less or equal to 120 and a diastolic of less or equal to 80 (120/80) millimeters of mercury (mmHg).  A person with high blood pressure has a systolic equal to or above 140 and a diastolic equal to or above 90 or 140/90 mmHg. 

High blood pressure may go unnoticed for many months.  This is dangerous because it may slowly damage the heart, blood vessels, and the kidneys and cause other complications.  Imagine being told that you had high blood pressure or that you had to be admitted to the hospital and rest for the rest of your pregnancy!   Even though blood pressure during pregnancy can be silent, it can be detected during prenatal visits. Women are encouraged to go to each prenatal visit during the course of pregnancy.

Other preeclampsia signs include proteinuria or protein in urine, swelling (edema), sudden weight gain, nausea or vomiting, abdominal pain, shoulder pain, lower back pain, changes in vision, mental confusion, anxiety, or shortness of breath (PF, 2013).  Pregnant women are encouraged to let their health care provider know about any change they notice during pregnancy in order to take care of the issue on time.       

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Diabetes and pregnancy. Retrieved form

            http://www2.cdc.gov/ncbddd/faorder/orderform.htm

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2012). What is high blood pressure? Retrieved from

            http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hbp/  

Preeclampsia Foundation. (2013). Welcome to the Preeclampsia Foundation. Retrieved from

            http://www.preeclampsia.org/

Public Service Announcement: Beat GEDI

Beat GEDI

Are you Pregnant? or Planning to Become Pregnant?
How do you Know that You are at Risk of Developing Gestational Diabetes?
About 2 to 10 out 100 women will develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy.... are you one of them?
Gestational diabetes is associated with adverse health problems for the mother and infant.

Call 1-800-NOTGEDI or 1-800-668-4334 or text NOTGEDI, to learn more.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013). Thinking about becoming pregnant? Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/news/docs/gestational.htm

Welcome to My Blog, Parents Let's Talk about GeDi

Welcome to Parents Let's Talk about GeDi!
Thank you for taking time to visit my blog!
I hope you will find helpful information about gestational diabetes.

What is GeDi?
GeDi stands for Gestational Diabetes.

To get started, please feel free to view the Youtube video below, produced by the American Diabetes Association (2010)

 

The good news is that gestational diabetes can be prevented and managed.

Thank you
Ahondju:)