Managing Weight Before Pregnancy: A Key Step to Preventing Gestational Diabetes

November doesn’t just mark the official start of the holiday season. It’s also National Diabetes Month. Alternatively called American Diabetes Month®, it’s a time to call attention to this widespread condition. 

Diabetes is an umbrella term for several conditions that affect blood sugar levels. That includes gestational diabetes, a specific form affecting pregnant women. Being diagnosed with this kind of diabetes makes a pregnancy high-risk. That’s a categorization you probably want to avoid. 

Fortunately, some risk factors for gestational diabetes are within your control. Coming into your pregnancy at a healthy weight goes a long way toward lowering your risk.

That’s part of the reason that Charis Trench-Simmons, MD, and Lorenza Simmons, MD, offer weight loss care here at Prestige Healthcare OBGYN in Atlanta, Georgia.

The link between your weight and risk of gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes arises because changing hormone levels affect how your body uses the sugar (glucose) in your blood.

Hormonal changes can make it harder for your cells to convert that glucose into fuel. That leads to too much blood sugar, which can cause high birth weight, preterm birth, and more. 

Experts are still trying to understand precisely why some women develop gestational diabetes and others don’t. They’ve found a correlation in one area, though. Extra weight heightens your risk of this pregnancy complication. 

Keep in mind that you don’t want to try to lose weight once you get pregnant. Experts generally recommend that women gain weight throughout pregnancy to support the development of healthy babies. 

That means that if you live with extra weight and are thinking about getting pregnant, now’s an ideal time to take action. 

Timing your weight loss program before pregnancy

Here at Prestige Healthcare OBGYN, our team can help you lose weight safely before you get pregnant. 

As a bonus, if you’re dealing with obesity, addressing excess weight now helps you have a safer pregnancy. It also lowers your baby’s risk of problems like asthma, learning challenges, and more. 

We tailor your weight loss program to you and your goals. That means we can use this time to help you not just drop excess pounds, but also to get your body ready for pregnancy. 

Our program is medically supervised. Dr. Simmons and Dr. Trench-Simmons oversee your progress, offering medical nutrition guidance, lifestyle counseling, and medication when needed. 

If you decide to implement weight loss injections or pills into your program, we help you with the timing. You generally want to be off those options at least a couple of months before you try to get pregnant. 

If you’re thinking about getting pregnant and living with excess weight, take advantage of National Diabetes Month. To lower your risk of gestational diabetes and other pregnancy complications, start your weight loss journey now.

Call our office or book an appointment online today so we can help.