Do pregnant women need to take glucose tolerance test?

For the sake of their own health and the health of the baby in their belly, pregnant women need to undergo examinations at every stage of pregnancy, and the examination items for each stage are different. Glucose tolerance is also a test that some pregnant women must do during pregnancy, but before glucose tolerance, they must also do a test called glucose screening. Glucose screening is something that all pregnant women must do, but do all pregnant women need to do glucose tolerance?

Can pregnant women not take glucose tolerance test?

In fact, many people are confused about glucose tolerance and glucose screening. In fact, these are two different tests. Glucose screening is the abbreviation for gestational diabetes screening, and glucose tolerance is a further test that needs to be done when the glucose screening fails.

From this we can see that if the results of the glucose screening test are normal, there is no need to do a glucose tolerance test. However, for expectant mothers with positive glucose screening results, a glucose tolerance test should be performed to confirm whether they have gestational diabetes.

What should you pay attention to when doing a glucose tolerance test?

1. Eat normally 3 days before the test

In the three days before the test, the carbohydrate intake (i.e. rice and pasta) should not be less than 150 grams. If the subjects deliberately reduce the amount of staple food, the test results will be inaccurate, leading to misdiagnosis.

2. Avoid strenuous exercise and keep your emotions stable

Normal physical activity should be performed 3 days before the test. However, strenuous exercise before the test can excite the sympathetic nerves and increase blood sugar.

3. Be sure to eat on an empty stomach

When doing a glucose tolerance test, the expectant mother must fast for 8 to 14 hours to truly reflect the fasting blood sugar level. The first fasting blood sample is used to measure the sugar level in the blood, called a basal test.

4. Do not eat during the experiment

During the experiment, you are not allowed to smoke, drink water or eat. You can walk around a little, but avoid early morning exercise. In addition, expectant mothers do not need to be nervous and should not let their emotions fluctuate due to multiple blood draws. They should try their best to cooperate with medical staff in drawing blood samples each time.

5. Special circumstances

If you experience symptoms such as pale complexion, nausea, or fainting during the examination, stop the test. If the above symptoms appear 3-4 hours after taking sugar, it should be considered as reactive hypoglycemia. Blood should be drawn immediately to measure blood sugar and the patient should be allowed to eat.

Through the above introduction about whether pregnant women can choose not to do glucose tolerance test and what to pay attention to during glucose tolerance test, everyone can find that glucose tolerance test is not necessary for every pregnant woman, but glucose screening test is something that every pregnant woman must do. Glucose tolerance test is only needed if the glucose screening fails.