What Kinds of Diabetes Are There?

The condition known as diabetes affects how your body converts food into energy. Type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes are the three primary kinds of the disease.

When you have type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin. A hormone called insulin facilitates the uptake of blood sugar into cells for cellular energy utilization

Although the body produces insulin, type 2 diabetes results in poor insulin utilization.

A form of diabetes known as gestational diabetes appears during pregnancy.

How widespread is diabetes while pregnant?

In the US, type 1 or type 2 diabetes affects 1% to 2% of pregnant women, while gestational diabetes affects 6% to 9% of pregnant women. Pregnancy-related diabetes has become more prevalent recently. According to recent studies, the prevalence of pregnant women with gestational diabetes grew by 56% between 2000 and 2010, whereas the percentage of pregnant women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes increased by 37%. Pregnancy diabetes varies by race and ethnicity. Black and Hispanic women have greater rates of type 1 or type 2 diabetes during pregnancy, while Asian and Hispanic women have higher rates of gestational diabetes.

How Might Diabetes Affect My Unborn Child?

Type 1, type 2, or gestational diabetes during pregnancy can have a detrimental impact on a woman’s and her unborn child’s health. High blood sugar levels around the time of conception increase the risk of birth abnormalities, stillbirth, and premature birth in women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. High blood sugar levels during pregnancy also raise the chance of caesarean birth for women with any type of diabetes and the likelihood that their unborn children would be overweight or acquire type 2 diabetes or obesity.