Gestational diabetes: Counting carbs
Why do I need to count carbohydrate?
Counting carbohydrate helps you know how much carbohydrate you are eating during a meal. The more carbohydrate you eat at one time, the higher your blood sugar level rises. Carbohydrate counting helps if:
- You don't take insulin. Counting carbohydrate helps you know how much carbohydrate you need to eat during each meal to prevent high blood sugar.
- You take insulin before meals, and your doctor wants to adjust the amount you take according to the amount of carbohydrate in the meal. (Often, doctors suggest that a pregnant woman take 1 unit of fast-acting insulin for every 10 grams of carbohydrate she plans to eat.)
Eating a certain amount of carbohydrate and spreading it throughout the day will help keep your blood sugar levels within a safe range and prevent a blood sugar emergency. High blood sugar can increase the risk of problems with your health or your baby's health.
Test Your Knowledge
Counting carbohydrate helps me regulate the amount of carbohydrate I eat to prevent harm to my baby from high blood sugar.
Continue to
How to count carbohydrate
Return to
| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS | Last Updated: December 4, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | Caroline S. Rhoads, MD - Internal Medicine Lois Jovanovic, MD - Endocrinology | |
 | ||