The process of glucose tolerance test for pregnant women

After pregnancy, the hormone secreted by the early fetus will weaken the effect of insulin, so if you are healthy before, gestational diabetes is generally not likely to occur at the beginning. Pregnant women usually develop insulin resistance after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and from then on, pregnancy-induced diabetes is at a high risk. Therefore, glucose tolerance tests are generally performed at 24-28 weeks. If your blood sugar level was high before, your doctor will ask you to do a glucose tolerance test in advance. Just follow the doctor's advice. Let’s take a look at the steps for pregnant women to do glucose tolerance test.

Steps for pregnant women to do glucose tolerance

The procedures for glucose tolerance testing may vary in each hospital. Some hospitals may require blood tests four times, while others may require blood tests three times.

1. Fasting: Don’t eat or drink too much water after 10 o’clock the night before. Maintain a fasting time of at least 8 hours. The longer the time, the lower the probability of abnormal results. Since the method of glucose tolerance test is to extract venous blood and test the glucose content in the blood, food and water contain glucose, which will increase the blood sugar concentration and cause the result to appear abnormally high.

2. The first blood test: After arriving at the hospital, you usually need to wait in a long line for examination. In this case, you can communicate with the doctor in advance, get the test order first, and conduct the first fasting blood test. That will save you a lot of time and won't keep you hungry for too long.

3. Drink sugar water: The doctor will prescribe a portion of fine sugar, about 50g. Add the fine sugar to 300ml of warm water, dissolve it, and drink it within 5 minutes. Don't drink too fast, just drink it at a steady pace. The red bean syrup is very sweet, greasy, and a bit difficult to swallow. Remember to bring a large cup with you. I brought a 200ml cup at that time, which was embarrassing. Some hospital outpatient clinics require patients to drink 75g of fine sugar plus 200ml of water. They are not quite the same. Just follow the hospital outpatient regulations.

4. Second blood test: Start the countdown from the time you drink the sugar water, and draw blood one hour later. When you are waiting in line, please tell the doctor that you want to have a glucose tolerance test. The doctor will give priority to blood drawing for the test at the requested time.

5. The third blood test: start the countdown from the time you drink the sugar water, and draw blood for the test 2 hours later. At this time, all the glucose tolerance tests are completed, and I can finally sit down and eat something. I have been hungry for so long, and replenishing energy in time will not cause hypoglycemia.

The glucose tolerance test for pregnant women has a certain impact on the body. In the face of this situation, everyone must pay attention and actively understand the common problems before the glucose tolerance test. This requires patients to avoid the intake of starch and sugar as much as possible within half a month during the glucose tolerance test, and try not to eat high-sugar foods, such as chocolate, coca-cola and other foods. Of course, try to eat the most delicious and light dishes on the day of the test, and try not to eat even white rice.