07/30/2026
Honoring my gestational diabetes through photos 🤍 I told Jess to keep my glucose monitor in our maternity shoot pics during edits cuz at the end of the day, my CGM helped me grow my baby safely too 🥰 When I was diagnosed with GD in my first pregnancy, I was so confused, slightly scared & felt a fair amount of shame wondering if I had somehow caused this. I never heard anyone talk about their experience with being diabetic in pregnancy & I didn’t know that was even a possibility! Education for GD is still so lacking & I get questions about my own journey all the time, so here are some fun facts for you
🤍 Yes there are risk factors that contribute (ex: I have PMOS), but GD is not your fault! Your placenta plays a major role in causing it by producing hormones (lactogen, estrogen, cortisol) that lead to insulin resistance.
🤍 When the body grows the new organ of the placenta to support baby, these same hormones can make the mother’s cells less sensitive to insulin. The placenta just produces MORE of those hormones as it grows & sometimes the pancreas can’t keep up with insulin production to block this, so blood sugar rises. This is why most GD testing is done in the late 2nd trimester!
🤍 Once the baby is born & the placenta is delivered, those insulin blocking hormones simply ✨disappear✨ & blood sugar often returns to normal BUT
🤍 Having GD increases the chance of you developing type 2 diabetes within 10 years by 50%! That’s why I tell people GD changed my whole LIFE! I will never be able to have the same relationship with carbs as I did before this diagnosis… Womp womp!
🤍 That being said, a low carb diet keeps my blood sugar numbers in range (shoutout Lily Nichols RDN 🤰🏻 “Real Food for GD” book) & having a CGM this pregnancy was so transformative for understanding which foods spike my blood sugar & how exercise affects my body too. Speaking of numbers!
🤍 Only 15-30% of people with GD require insulin therapy. So most is diet controlled & your care team wants to see your numbers at or below: 95 mg when fasting, 140 mg 1 hr after eating & 120 mg 2 hours after eating!
🤍 Yes you can still home birth with GD if managed properly 😝
✨The more you know ✨
