Skip to main content
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 12 April 2020

Dr. Uma Ram, Director and OBGYN Seethapathy clinic and Hospital, Chennai shares tips for pregnant women to follow to ensure good sugar control, especially in times of Covid-19 lockdown which has restricted movement and is stressful.

One in five pregnant women we see have gestational diabetes or high sugars in pregnancy. A lock down can cause problems for them because they may not be able to exercise, get enough veggies or access blood tests. Here are a few tips to ensure good sugar control

  1. Walk on your terrace or inside your house especially after meals. If you have a step counter use it. Most smartphones have a step counter.
     
  2. Do upper body exercises at home, since they are a good way to help keep control of your blood sugars..
     
  3. The physical activity involved in household work can also help.
     
  4. Be conscious that diet is even more important if you can’t exercise as much. Do NOT succumb to having “just one sweet “. Do read Dietary approach to managing Gestational Diabetes 
     
  5. This is a stressful time. It may be natural to feel worried or anxious. Don’t confuse that for hunger and seek out high calorie or sugared comfort food.
     
  6. Get a glycometer and check your sugars on it to keep track. Here are tips on choosing a glucometer.
     
  7. Mail in your reports or call in and talk to your doctors. See a primer on the new telemedicine guidelines.  
     
  8. Routine scans may be cancelled but if you are on medication or sugars are poorly controlled, it is recommended that your doctor can keep a watch on you and do scans as required.
     
  9. If there is a BP monitor at home that’s well calibrated, use it to check your blood pressure as your routine check up frequency may be reduced. Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus(GDM) are at higher risk of developing BP in pregnancy so it’s important to keep an eye out for that too.

 

Related reading: 

Pregnancy and Diabetes

Pregnancy and Hypertension

 

 

Director and OBGYn Seethapathy clinic and Hospital, keen on clinical research and empowering women with health information 

Changed
13/Apr/2020
Condition

Stories

  • Stock pic of a young woman fainting and the text overlay When to take fainting seriously
    When Should You Take Fainting Seriously
    Unconsciousness or fainting is an occurrence that we are all familiar with. It is usually a symptom of an underlying medical issue. Here the PatientsEngage team helps you understand the many causes of fainting and when to see a doctor. Unconsciousness is like a switch turning off, and most people know this as something far more familiar called fainting. When someone faints, the brain temporarily receives less blood than it needs, leading to a brief loss of awareness to their surroundings.…
  • Stock pic of diabetes monitoring tests and text overlay on blue strip Which Diabetes Tests are Really needed?
    Diabetes tests: what you really need (and what you can skip)
    The constant barrage of tests for diabetes diagnosis and management can feel overwhelming. And new ones keep popping up. Dr. Shital Patel explains the role and utility of each of the tests  If you are living with diabetes, you have had a lot of blood tests, check-ups, and screenings. It can feel overwhelming trying to keep track of what all these tests mean and which ones are truly important for your health. You may often see new tests being added in testing packages or mentioned in…
  • Stock pic of a person with a CGM sensor on one arm and holding a mobile with the other. Text overlay Continuous Glucose Monitoring
    Should I Use Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)?
    The use of Continuous Glucose Monitor is increasing. The PatientsEngage team has put together useful information that explains the basics of CGM, who it is meant for, what you can expect, how to interpret the data and more. What Is Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)? With India fast moving towards becoming the Diabetes capital, newer monitoring techniques for blood sugar have come into play. The Continuous Glucose Monitor or CGM, as its commonly known as, is a wearable sensor that measure…
  • Pic of a woman in dance outfit and text on thumbnail Personal Voice Diabetes Management
    नृत्य और संतुलित आहार - मधुमेह के प्रबंधन के मेरे दो स्तम्भ
    59 वर्षीया संगीता इस लेख में अपना अनुभव साझा करते हुए बताती हैं कि कैसे नृत्य और संतुलित आहार को एकीकृत करके उन्हें अपने रक्त शर्करा के स्तर को नियंत्रित करने में मदद मिली। वे इस बात पर भी जोर देती हैं कि कौन कौन से उपचार का तरीका आपके शरीर के लिए उपयुक्त है, यह सोचना जरूरी है, और इस के लिए जरूरत हो तो डॉक्टर बदलना सामान्य माना जाना चाहिए। कृपया मधुमेह के निदान को प्राप्त करने की अपनी यात्रा के बारे में बताएं। 2002 में, 36 साल की उम्र में गर्भावस्था की दूसरी तिमाही के दौरान मुझे गर्भावधि…
  • An elderly Indian couple holding a red umbrella walking in the rain and the text overlay on blue strip Health of Older Adults in Monsoon
    Managing Older Adults Health In Rainy Season
    As we age, our immunity and ability to withstand infections decline. This makes us more vulnerable to infections. The monsoon season particularly adds to the risk of falls due to slippery surfaces, diseases like dengue and malaria from mosquito bites, diarrhea and also aggravation of respiratory conditions like asthma and bronchitis. Here are a few conditions to watch out for and how to manage our health during the rainy season: Food and Waterborne Diseases Monsoons are associated with a lot of…
  • Pic of a woman in dance outfit and text on thumbnail Personal Voice Diabetes Management
    Managing Diabetes With 2Ds - Dance And Diet
    Sangeeta, 59, shares her experience on how integrating dance and a balanced diet effectively helped her manage blood sugar levels. She also highlights that it is important to consider which treatment suits your body, hence changing doctors should be considered normal Please share your journey with the diagnosis of diabetes. In 2002, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during my second trimester at the age of 36. Following my doctor’s recommendations, I took the necessary precautions and…
  • An elderly man on the floor, being assisted by a woman, with his cane on the floor next to him and hindi text overlay on blue strip वृद्धों में गिरने के कारण
    वृद्धों में गिरने के कारण
    विश्वभर की आबादी में वृद्धों का अनुपात अन्य आय-वर्गों के मुकाबले बढ़ रहा है। गिरने के हादसे और उससे जुड़ी चोटें और रुग्णता बढ़ रहे हैं और यह विश्व स्तर पर एक महत्वपूर्ण चुनौती है। बुजुर्गों में गिरने के कारणों को जानने से इस समस्या की संभावना को कम करने के लिए उचित जागरूकता बढ़ाई जा सकती है। इसकी रोकथाम के लिए कदम लेने में सहायता मिल सकती है। आइए इस लेख में बुजुर्गों के गिरने के कारणों के बारे में अधिक जानें । जेरिएट्रिक मेडिसिन क्षेत्र के दिग्गज प्रोफेसर बर्नार्ड इसाक ने कहा है,  'एक…
  • An elderly man on the floor, being assisted by a woman, with his cane on the floor next to him and text overlay on blue strip Causes of Falls in Elderly
    Causes of Falls in Older Adults
    The demographic of the world's population is shifting towards older age groups. The prevalence of falls and associated injuries and morbidity is on the rise, posing a significant global challenge. Knowing the causes of falls in elderly can help create awareness and aid prevention. Let’s find out a bit more about the causes of falls in elderly.  Professor Bernard Isaacs, a giant in geriatric medicine said, ‘It takes a child one year to acquire independent movement and ten years to acquire…
  • Pic of the author Marianne holding her book and the text My CGM experience on the side
    CGM with an Active Lifestyle
    Marianne de Nazareth who has lived with and managed diabetes for a long time, decided to try out the latest technology for diabetes management, the CGM or Continuous Glucose Monitor. She shares her experience here.  So here I was enjoying the company of 10 other writers in the friend's home one evening, when I noticed one of them kept touching her arm with her phone and only then agreeing to a drink or indulge in a snack. She told me - a person with long term diabetes about Continuous…
  • Pictures of Dr. Usha Sriram and Dr. Gita Arjun and the text Diabetes During Pregnancy
    गर्भावस्था के दौरान मधुमेह: कुछ आवश्यक जानकारी
    भारत में मधुमेह एक बढ़ती हुई चिंता का विषय है, और यह युवाओं में और विशेषकर गर्भावस्था के दौरान महिलाओं में भी देखा जा रहा है। डॉ. उषा श्रीराम (एंडोक्रिनोलॉजिस्ट, दिवास एनजीओ की संस्थापक) और डॉ. गीता अर्जुन (ओब्गिन, डायरेक्टर, ईवी कल्याणी मेडिकल फाउंडेशन) के साथ वेबिनार चर्चा पर आधारित इस लेख में आपको गर्भावस्था के दौरान होने वाले मधुमेह और इसके प्रबंधन को समझने में मदद मिलेगी। गर्भकालीन मधुमेह (गेस्टेशनल डाइअबीटीज़) क्या है? जब किसी भी प्रकार के मधुमेह का सबसे पहले निदान गर्भावस्था के दौरान किया…