Blood Sugar Test, a Must for Pregnant Women: Union Health Minister

Blood glucose test during pregnancy is mandatory to detect diabetes at the earliest and also treat it before complications arise, said Dr. Jitendra Singh.

Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER), has said that it is mandatory for every pregnant woman to undergo a blood sugar test. He also suggested that women take this test as soon as pregnancy is confirmed and ideally, even while planning a baby.

Dr. Singh said if India is to get rid of the dubious distinction of a country with an epidemic of diabetes, it is crucial to prevent the occurrence of diabetes in pregnancy, particularly Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. This will not only result in better outcomes for both mother as well as her baby, but will also help in preventing the cycle of generation to generation transmission of diabetes through family preponderance.

Gestational Diabetes About
The condition is not caused by a lack of insulin, but by the action of hormones produced during pregnancy that blocks the action of insulin.

Children born to diabetic mother are not only prone to develop diabetes, but are also at the risk of diabetes at a much earlier age, he added. He advocated that any pregnant woman visiting any hospital or clinic at any period of her pregnancy, early or late, should be immediately subjected to a blood sugar test, irrespective of whether she is fasting or non-fasting to identify undetected diabetes.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, in a country like India, where there is already higher phenotype prevalence for diabetes, it is wise to devise easier screening methods of diabetes in pregnancy. Instead of going in for conventional Oral Glucose Tolerance Test, it is advisable to go for a single Glucose Challenge Test (GCT). A single GCT was 100% accurate and was comparatively economical.

Source-Medindia

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