Maternal glucose response to a standardized test meal throughout pregnancy and postnatally.

Abstract

Our purpose was to determine the maternal blood glucose response to food throughout pregnancy. 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. 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. 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.