Maternal glucose response to a standardized test meal throughout pregnancy and postnatally.
OBJECTIVE
Our purpose was to determine the maternal blood glucose response to food throughout pregnancy.


METHODS
Forty-five normal, healthy primiparous women with singleton pregnancies were studied longitudinally throughout pregnancy. Blood glucose levels were determined at each stage of pregnancy after a standardized test meal.


RESULTS
Fasting plasma glucose decreased throughout gestation and rose again significantly post partum. Glucose values at 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after a standardized test meal were similar at all gestational ages studied.


CONCLUSIONS
Plasma glucose levels after a physiologic challenge with food do not alter with advancing gestation. This has implications both for the management of insulin-dependent diabetes during pregnancy and for the diagnosis of gestational diabetes.
Campbell
D M
DM
University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Scotland.
Sutherland
H W
HW
Pearson
D W
DW
D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood*; D011262:Pregnancy Trimester, Second; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D001786:Blood Glucose