Previously Diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes
If you’ve had gestational diabetes, you have up to a 1 in 2 chance of developing type 2 diabetes in the next 5-10 years and having gestational diabetes in future pregnancies.
If you’ve had gestational diabetes it’s important to continue to have your Hb A1c checked :
- At least 3 months postnatal – to make sure your blood glucose levels have returned to normal
- Once a year HbA1c – to detect prediabetes or type 2 diabetes
- Before future pregnancies – to rule out diabetes before becoming pregnant.
As well as Gestational Diabetes there are additional risk factors for developing Type 2 Diabetes, which include:
- being over 40 years (or 25 for South Asian people)
- having a close relative with diabetes (such as a parent, brother or sister)
- being overweight or obese
- being of South Asian, Chinese, African Caribbean or black African origin (even if you were born in the UK)
- having polycystic ovary syndrome
- smoking
There is a lot you can do to reduce your risk, these include:
- eating well
- staying active · being the right weight for your height
- stopping smoking
What support is available?
Within NHS Grampian we have a service specifically designed to offer support to women who have had a diagnosis of gestational diabetes during pregnancy. If you are new to motherhood you will have been informed of this service during your pregnancy and received 3 mail drops from us. These mail drops are sent at 3, 6 and 9 months after the delivery of your baby and offer you support and ways to get in contact with us. If you are not new to motherhood, this service is still for you and we encourage you to access these services.
What is this service?
We offer telephone consultations, by an NHS Dietitian, to talk through any areas of concern you may have and link you into services that will be of use to you.
We are very happy to be contacted to discuss how we might be able to help you in any aspect of your lifestyle, for example dietary information, exploring breaking eating habits and physical activity levels. You can contact us on 01224 655708 or email gram.patientgroupeducation@nhs.scot
The Diabetes Supported Self-Management Service can provide support around:
- Exploring physical activity levels and ways in which this could be increased to support maintaining normal blood glucose levels after gestational diabetes
- Helping to adjust or improve eating habits and patterns to support maintaining normal blood glucose levels after gestational diabetes
- Providing strategies to help manage mild-moderate stress/anxiety and/or low mood that might getting in the way of efforts to self-manage health and blood glucose levels after having your baby
Please see our YouTube video about the support we offer.
To find out more or arrange an appointment for 1:1 support, you can email or call member of the team.
– Email: gram.actnow@nhs.scot
– Telephone: 01224 655755
A 12 week face to face interactive group programme is delivered in various leisure centres throughout Grampian, followed by 9 months of weight loss maintenance reviews. The programme will help you to find that balance to achieving a healthy weight and will look at taking a healthy approach to nutrition, finding ways to be active, adopting a positive mindset, listening to your body and most importantly, not being too hard on yourself. You can self-refer by following the links below,
Online weight management programme to help you achieve a healthier lifestyle and weight.
Helpful information is available from the NHS Grampian Healthpoint team on 08085 202030 or you can follow the links below: