A gestational diabetes registered dietitian is expertly trained in the nutrition management of health, including prenatal and diabetes management.

Gestational Diabetes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mouri MI, Badireddy M. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island FL : StatPearls Publishing; Jan-. Nuha A.

ElSayed, Grazia Aleppo, Vanita R. Aroda, Raveendhara R. Bannuru, Florence M. Brown, Dennis Bruemmer, Billy S. Collins, Marisa E.

Hilliard, Diana Isaacs, Eric L. Johnson, Scott Kahan, Kamlesh Khunti, Jose Leon, Sarah K. Lyons, Mary Lou Perry, Priya Prahalad, Richard E. Pratley, Jane Jeffrie Seley, Robert C. Stanton, Robert A. Gabbay; on behalf of the American Diabetes Association, Management of Diabetes in Pregnancy: Standards of Care in Diabetes— Rasmussen, L.

Diet and Healthy Lifestyle in the Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus. Nutrients, 12 10 , Lende, M. Gestational Diabetes: Overview with Emphasis on Medical Management. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17 24 , Department of Agriculture.

Grains MyPlate. Fruit ADA. Diabetes Superstar Foods ADA n. Non-Starchy Vegetables ADA n. Protein ADA n. Bouzari, A. Vitamin retention in eight fruits and vegetables: a comparison of refrigerated and frozen storage. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry , 63 3 , — If you want to learn more about diet and lifestyle changes with diabetes, find a registered dietitian covered by insurance with Nourish.

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What is your current activity level? Medically Reviewed By:. Christine Russell, MS, RD, LD, CDCES. Fat contains calories to help supply energy to you and your baby. Fat helps your body absorb vitamins A, D, E and K. Fat also gives you essential fatty acids, which help your baby's brain and nervous system develop.

It is important to focus on eating healthful fats. The following foods are good sources of healthful fats:. It's OK to eat two or three servings a day of foods that are sweetened with these artificial sweeteners:. Many artificially sweetened foods contain more than one of the above listed sweeteners.

They are safe for pregnancy, but do not eat too much. Ask your health care provider how much you can eat if you are not sure. Gestational Diabetes. Meal plan You need to eat and drink at least 12 carbohydrate choices each day. At breakfast, include: 2 to 3 carbohydrate choices 30 to 45 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely At lunch, include: 3 to 4 carbohydrate choices 45 to 60 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely At dinner, include: 3 to 4 carbohydrate choices 45 to 60 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely For a morning snack, include: 1 to 2 carbohydrate choices 15 to 30 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely For an afternoon snack, include: 1 to 2 carbohydrate choices 15 to 30 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely For an evening snack, include: 1 to 2 carbohydrate choices 15 to 30 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely.

Breakfast tips Blood glucose is hard to control in the morning when the hormones that boost your blood glucose levels are released. To help, follow these breakfast tips: Eat a small breakfast.

Eat whole-grain bread products. Eat a food that has protein. Do not eat cereal or fruit. Do not drink fruit juice at breakfast or any other time of the day. Fruit juice raises your blood glucose very quickly.

Completing a meal plan Vegetables Most vegetables do not raise blood glucose. It takes several pieces of fruit to make a glass of juice. Juice is high in natural sugar. Because it is liquid, it raises blood sugar levels quickly.

Avoid regular sodas and sugary soft drinks for the same reason. You may use diet drinks and Crystal Light. Cakes, cookies, candies, and pastries are high in sugar and are likely to raise blood sugar levels too much.

These foods often contain a lot of fat and offer very little nutrition. Sugar alcohol is often used to make sugar-free desserts and syrups. These products can be labeled "sugar free" but may contain the same amount of carbohydrate as the versions made with regular sugar.

Look at food labels to see the grams of total carbohydrate. Sugar alcohols may have a laxative effect, or cause gas and bloating. The following are examples of sugar-alcohols: mannitol, maltitol, sorbitol, xylitol, isomalt, and hydrogenated starch hydrolysate.

Get ready for the baby! Choose from a variety of classes that prepare moms and partners for pregnancy, birth, baby care, breastfeeding and parenting. Get support for all your breastfeeding needs.

Troubleshoot with a lactation consultant, find equipment and supplies, join a support group and more. Access free health resources here, from classes and webinars to support groups and medical referrals, plus pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding services. Gestational diabetes refers to diabetes that is diagnosed during pregnancy.

Gestational diabetes occurs in about 7 percent of all pregnancies. Learn more. During the last half of pregnancy, your body makes more red blood cells which can cause Anemia. Learn more about causes and prevention here. Domestic violence is the most common health problem among women during pregnancy.

It greatly threatens both the mother's and baby's health. Learn more here. It is important to get the nutrients you need both before getting pregnant and during your pregnancy. Find more nutrition information including macros here. Most women can, and should, engage in moderate exercise during pregnancy.

Exercise can help you stay in shape and prepare your body for labor and delivery. Commonly asked questions regarding Prenatal Tests including, types available, positive screenings, diagnostic testing, health insurance coverage, and more. If you are pregnant, we recommend you be tested for the human immunodeficiency virus HIV even if you do not think you are at risk.

Protein is important for you and your baby. Protein helps build cells, helps with growth and healing, and helps hormones work. Most pregnant women need six to eight ounces of protein each day.

Dried beans and lentils contain protein but they must be counted as carbohydrates. Examples of protein foods are:. One serving equals 12 ounces of a beverage or one 6- to 8-ounce carton of yogurt that contains an artificial sweetener.

Fat contains calories to help supply energy to you and your baby. Fat helps your body absorb vitamins A, D, E and K. Fat also gives you essential fatty acids, which help your baby's brain and nervous system develop.

It is important to focus on eating healthful fats. The following foods are good sources of healthful fats:.

It's OK to eat two or three servings a day of foods that are sweetened with these artificial sweeteners:. Many artificially sweetened foods contain more than one of the above listed sweeteners. They are safe for pregnancy, but do not eat too much.

Ask your health care provider how much you can eat if you are not sure. Gestational Diabetes. Meal plan You need to eat and drink at least 12 carbohydrate choices each day.

At breakfast, include: 2 to 3 carbohydrate choices 30 to 45 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely At lunch, include: 3 to 4 carbohydrate choices 45 to 60 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely At dinner, include: 3 to 4 carbohydrate choices 45 to 60 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely For a morning snack, include: 1 to 2 carbohydrate choices 15 to 30 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely For an afternoon snack, include: 1 to 2 carbohydrate choices 15 to 30 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely For an evening snack, include: 1 to 2 carbohydrate choices 15 to 30 grams protein meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, peanut butter vegetable or fat, freely.

Breakfast tips Blood glucose is hard to control in the morning when the hormones that boost your blood glucose levels are released. To help, follow these breakfast tips: Eat a small breakfast. Elizabeth Ward is a registered dietitian and award-winning nutrition communicator and writer.

She has authored or co-authored 10 books for consumers about nutrition at all stages of life. During pregnancy, you're already adjusting to multiple changes in your body. Adding a diagnosis of gestational diabetes can add to the overwhelm.

Take heart that not only will you be able to sustain a healthy pregnancy, but you'll be able to do it without following a strict meal plan. Keep reading to learn what causes gestational diabetes, how to eat healthy with gestational diabetes and how to create an easy-to-follow diabetes meal plan guide.

The goal is to implement sustainable habits that feel manageable and stress-free, and still help keep your blood sugars in a healthy range during this exciting time. Gestational diabetes is diabetes that occurs during pregnancy, even if you didn't have diabetes before pregnancy.

It's routine for your prenatal health care team to test for it between weeks 24 and 28 of pregnancy. Any woman can get gestational diabetes; however, you may be at increased risk if you are overweight, have had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy or have relatives with diabetes.

Like other forms of diabetes, gestational diabetes impacts how your cells use glucose. When you eat carbohydrates, they are broken down into glucose in your bloodstream.

Insulin is then released from the pancreas to take glucose to your cells so it can be used for energy. Hormonal shifts during pregnancy can cause insulin resistance, meaning glucose levels stay high in your blood instead of being taken to your cells to be used.

The risks of gestational diabetes can include complications for mom and baby, such as a larger baby, which can increase the risk of needing a cesarean section. Uncontrolled blood sugar can also lead to high blood pressure in the mother.

In a review in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine , researchers state that there is a correlation between gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, a condition in which a mother's blood pressure soars too high among other things, like having protein in the urine.

While you probably can't reverse gestational diabetes while pregnant, the good news is that you can keep your blood sugar levels in check through proper nutrition, physical activity, managing your stress, getting plenty of quality sleep and working closely with your prenatal health care team.

Having gestational diabetes does not necessarily mean that you will have diabetes forever. The American Diabetes Association ADA confirms that gestational diabetes typically goes away after pregnancy, especially for those without a prior diabetes diagnosis.

But once you've had gestational diabetes, there's a 2 in 3 chance it could return in future pregnancies. Having gestational diabetes may also increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes down the road.

Some women may notice gestational diabetes symptoms before being tested by their health care practitioner.

Some of the typical symptoms include increased thirst and urination, blurred vision and fatigue which can be masked by normal pregnancy fatigue. However, most women will experience no symptoms at all, which is why it's important to go to all of your prenatal appointments.

Aside from having a family history of gestational diabetes or Type 2 diabetes, there are several other risk factors that may increase your chances of having gestational diabetes. According to a Cochrane Review , these risk factors include advanced maternal age, what your birth weight was when you were born low birth weight and high birth weight both put you at higher risk , polycystic ovarian syndrome PCOS , a history of gestational diabetes, being overweight, not engaging in enough physical activity before or during early pregnancy, gaining more than the recommended amount of weight during pregnancy, and having a previous stillbirth or giving birth to a large baby.

Interestingly, there have been studies, like the longitudinal study in Nature and Science of Sleep that suggest lower sleep quality in the first trimester may increase your risk of gestational diabetes. Considering the risk factors for gestational diabetes, there are a few things you can do to help reduce your risk of getting it.

It's important to remember, though, that if you do get diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it's not your fault. Some women seemingly do everything "right" and still end up with it.

If you are overweight or have obesity, you can lower your risk of gestational diabetes by making dietary changes that keep your blood sugar levels normal and help you gain less weight throughout pregnancy. It's important to note that regardless of what your weight was prior to pregnancy, your health care practitioner will most likely recommend that you still gain some weight during pregnancy.

The program included in-person and virtual dietary consultations with a licensed dietitian, encouragement to increase physical activity to minutes per week and behavior change coaching. If you have risk factors for gestational diabetes, ask your health care practitioner for a referral to a registered dietitian to help you design a healthy gestational diabetes prevention plan.

If you're wondering what the best diet for gestational diabetes is, the answer is that it's not one-size-fits-all. The overall goal is to incorporate foods that support healthy blood sugar levels.

Follow these general guidelines and then customize your meals based on the foods you like. Check out the sample gestational diabetes meal plan provided below as a guide. You can also schedule a meeting with a registered dietitian to determine your exact carbohydrate needs and get an individualized gestational diabetes meal plan.

Carbohydrates raise blood sugar more than fat and protein, so it's important to pay attention to the type and amount of carbohydrates you're eating.

Aim for about g of carbs per meal and grams per snack, but check with your dietitian for your specific needs.

Choose complex carbohydrates most of the time—these have more fiber, which slows digestion and prevents blood sugar from spiking. Share Facebook Icon The letter F.

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It symobilizes a website link url. Copy Link. This article was medically reviewed by Kailey Proctor , MPH, RDN, CSO, a board-certified oncology dietitian at City of Hope Orange County in Irvine California.

Our stories are reviewed by medical professionals to ensure you get the most accurate and useful information about your health and wellness.

For more information, visit our medical review board. Redeem now. Gestational diabetes is thought to be caused by pregnancy-related hormone fluctuations. If you have gestational diabetes, follow a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins.

This 7-day gestational diabetes meal plan includes three meals and two snacks a day. Read preview. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go.

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