Is It Possible to Have Natural Delivery(Vaginal Birth) in Gestational Diabetes?

Nowadays a lot of expecting mothers encounter the issue of gestational diabetes (GD). GD, which was not so frequent earlier, is becoming more common in recent years. Another alarming fact is that the rate of women developing gestational diabetes is alarming. Are you as an expecting mom suffering from gestational diabetes and are you worried about your birth option with your Gestational diabetes? Then do read on.

Is It Possible For A Vaginal Birth With Gestational Diabetes?

Yes, if the gestational diabetes is under control, expecting mothers have a considerably good chance to have an uncomplicated vaginal birth. However, gestational diabetes will leave you less choosy regarding the place you deliver. You have to give birth in a hospital, which is able to take care of an emergency situation. Besides, when it comes to gestational diabetes, obstetrician more often will recommend for an induced labor earlier than the due date.

Why Is Induced Labor Recommended During Gestational Diabetes?

Several factors and situation are crucial during labor and vaginal delivery of pregnant woman having gestational diabetes. Labor is induced (earlier) to rectify these factors in favor of the vaginal delivery. Here are some of the reasons why doctors recommend induction of labor for a woman with gestational diabetes.

Big Baby

The size of the baby is the main factor the doctor consider inducing labor before the due date. Gestational diabetes (if not strictly controlled) makes your baby grow larger than normal, or LGA (large for gestational age). After the examination of the 37th week of check-up doctor will assess the baby's size and decide about inducing the labor. This is because during the last couple of weeks the rate of weight gain of the baby of a mother with gestational diabetes will be very high. Bigger the baby, lesser will be the chances of trouble-free vaginal birth.

However, labor is induced early to bring down the chances of going to labor with a big baby because, delivering a big baby increases the chances of some issues to the mother, like -

• Perennial tearing: Giving birth to a big baby vaginally increases the odds and the severity of the perineal tearing. Even the fourth-degree laceration (a perineal tear that goes up to the rectum) is a common incident while delivering a big baby
• Loss of blood: The probability of postpartum hemorrhage raises if the baby is larger than the typical size
• Damage to the tailbone: While delivering a big baby, the pressure put forth by the baby, when passing through the birth canal, on the tailbone of the mother can cause injury to the tailbone

Read This: How to Manage Gestational Diabetes in Winter & Responsible Factors etc?

Shoulder Dystocia

Expecting mothers with poorly controlled GD makes babies end up with large shoulders and extra upper body fat. Because the extra blood sugar they grew big around their shoulders and chest. This increases the risk of shoulder dystocia, the rare condition in which the baby's shoulders get stuck behind the pubic bone during birth. This can cause serious consequences like a broken collarbone or injury to the nerves in a baby's neck and shoulders. Occasionally it could also give rise to oxygen deprivation that generates furthermore complications.

Increased Chances Of Stillbirth

Preventing stillbirth is the primary purpose of inducing labor when to a pregnant woman with GD. Normally, even if the gestation passes the due date, the doctors may wait until the 42nd week before inducing labor. However, in case of a pregnant woman with gestational diabetes, the chances of stillbirth increase considerably when the pregnancy advances past 40 weeks. Therefore, labor is induced around the 40th week of pregnancy if the mother shows no indications of natural labor.

Associated Issues

Gestational diabetes increases the risk of high blood pressure and preeclampsia. To reduce the risk of possible complications these issues can bring about during labor and delivery, labor is induced earlier than the due date.

Safety Measures For Women With GD During Vaginal Birth

Yes. During vaginal birth with gestational diabetes, there are some matters to take into account for making sure the mother and the child are out of harm's way during and after the birth.

• Maintaining the optimum level of blood sugar: This is very important for the health of mother and child. The blood glucose will be examined every hour and if the reading shows high level, insulin is administered intravenously through a drip, even though this will increase the difficulty to move around during labor. However, if your gestational diabetes stayed under control during pregnancy, it is not likely that your blood glucose levels will spike during labor
• Close monitoring of mother: The mother will be closely monitored throughout the labor and delivery if she is suffering from gestational diabetes. The doctor will make you wear a belt that measures the baby's heartbeat and mother's contractions. Blood pressure and heart condition of the mother will also be under constant observation.
  • Continuous monitoring of the baby: The doctor will monitor the baby throughout the labor with electronic fetal monitoring to check how he's coping with the contractions and for any signs of distress
  • Inducing labor a little earlier: To bring down the possible complications, labor is induced a little earlier for mothers with GD
  • Getting the baby into right position: Expecting a big baby, however, doesn't rule out the chances of vaginal birth entirely. Do you know around two-thirds of big babies are born vaginally? Well, more often than not, the right labor positions help to deliver a big baby smoothly, without any requirement of an episiotomy or assisted birth
  • Assisted birth: In the event that the pregnant woman gets depleted amid the procedure of delivery, or if the baby shows signs of getting distressed or if the baby is not moving easily out of the birth canal, the doctor will opt an assisted birth. They assist the baby with a forceps or ventouse to come out of the birth canal

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