As obesity becomes more and more common, the occurrence of gestational diabetes is becoming more and more serious. Because of the special characteristics of pregnant women, they cannot rely on drug intervention. How to intervene in blood sugar is more difficult. Therefore, some pregnant women take probiotics in the hope of improving blood sugar control. However, the latest research in Iran found that the risk of gestational diabetes among pregnant women exceeds 40%. Taking probiotics has no effect on reducing the occurrence of gestational diabetes. There is also no significant difference in other health indicators such as fasting blood sugar and glucose tolerance. Therefore, pregnant women cannot rely on probiotics to prevent gestational diabetes, but should consider other methods such as lifestyle, diet, exercise, etc. to improve it.

1. Gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes generally refers to metabolic abnormalities that occur when blood sugar is normal before pregnancy, but abnormal blood sugar occurs during pregnancy and even reaches the point of diagnosed diabetes. Generally, a 75g sugar screening test is performed. If one of fasting blood sugar, 1-hour blood sugar, and 2-hour blood sugar reaches or exceeds 5.1mmol/L (fasting), 10.0mmol/L (one hour), or 8.5mmol/L (2 hours), It can be considered as suffering from gestational diabetes. At the same time, a glycosylated hemoglobin test is more helpful in assessing blood sugar fluctuations.

2. Main risk factors for gestational diabetes

1. Have been obese since before pregnancy;

2. Family history of type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes;

3. Elderly pregnant women;

4. Pancreatic islet function is low;

5. Life is stressful;

6. Eat unhealthy food and eat junk food;

7. Insufficient exercise.

3. Research finds that probiotic supplementation alone does not reduce the risk of gestational diabetes

An Iranian scientific research team conducted a probiotic intervention study on 542 pregnant women. The pregnant women were randomly divided into two groups. They were supplemented with probiotics (including Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium bifidum) and placebo respectively. The intervention period started from From the 14th to the 24th week of pregnancy. The study found that the incidence rates of gestational diabetes in the probiotic group and the placebo group were 41.9% and 40.2% respectively, with no significant difference, and there were no significant differences in fasting blood glucose, glucose tolerance, and other health indicators. Therefore, researchers believe that simply supplementing with these probiotics does not reduce the risk of gestational diabetes.

4. What to do about gestational diabetes?

1. Rational use of medication. It is generally recommended to use insulin intervention appropriately to reduce the burden on pancreatic islets and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes in the future;

2. If you are overweight, it is recommended to lose weight reasonably;

3. Improve your diet, mix about half of the staple food with whole grains and miscellaneous grains, eat more vegetables, and eat some fruits that are not high in sugar;

4. Reasonable exercise, such as walking, etc.;

5. Improve your mood and don’t be anxious.

Therefore, the prevention of gestational diabetes should not rely solely on probiotics, but should be considered comprehensively, starting from improving lifestyle, diet, etc.