The author, who has type 2 diabetes (T2D) for 26 years, conducted his diabetes research over the past 11 years. Since 2020, he has published 400+ medical research papers in various medical journals. Recently, he received invitations to submit his medical research notes to a gynecology journal but he hesitated because he was not a gynecologist. However, the editor convinced him that his research results may be beneficial to some patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) since diabetes conditions are quite similar, if not the same. Therefore, he started to review some medical papers online on the subject of gestational diabetes. Finally, he uncovered that his research results could indeed benefit some GDM patients to some degree and decided to write this summary note. Although his research specialties are in the areas of endocrinology, diabetes, and lifestyle, after 11 years of dedicated medical research with additional self-studying on GDM, he discovered that approximately 90% of his diabetes research findings are applicable to this special group. In summary, three areas with special emphasis are highlighted for GDM patients. The first and major area is food nutrition in a lifestyle management program. Due to the concerns of hyperglycemia, the author eats high-quality protein, a lot of fish and vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables, portioncontrolled shellfish and fruits, along with avoidance of red meat and sweetened food. However, for a GDM patient, he highly recommends them to follow a “nutritional balanced” meal plan, avoiding high-carbs, sugar-based, and processed food in general to prevent unhealthy chemical additives. The fetus in utero needs good nutrition supplied by its mother; therefore, the mother must eat nutritional balanced meals that meet nutritional requirements and glucose concerns. The second area is specific weight-gain management. The author focuses on the food portion percentage with a strong willpower to resist his food cravings plus persistence each day, so that he can achieve his weight reduction target. However, for a GDM patient, she must constantly monitor the amount of weight gained according to the Mayo Clinic’s “weight-gain guidelines”. Maintenance in this area is important for the benefit of the baby’s development and mother’s health during pregnancy. However, both of his food portion percentage and persistent weight control are good examples to follow and useful for a GDM patient. The third area is medication treatment for gestational diabetes. Although the author ceased taking medications in controlling his diabetes symptoms, he decided to implement a rather stringent lifestyle management program in order to control or even reverse his diabetes conditions at the root-cause level. Nevertheless, it is a difficult route that takes a longer time span to be able to see significant improvements. Since the pregnancy period is relatively shorter, less than 10 months, a gestational diabetes patient must follow her physician’s advice to pursue all the necessary medication treatments or insulin injections. The information in particular the high correlation coefficients between any two variables, from Figures 2 through 5, provide useful knowledge for a GDM patient to learn in order to control her glucose levels during pregnancy. The most important goal is the safe delivery of a healthy new born
Baby Steps – a structured group education programme with accompanying mobile web application designed to promote physical activity in women with a history of gestational diabetes: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
