Which foods do I addto my diet to pass my (pregnant) 1-hour glucose test? page

[banananutmuffin]

In my previous two pregnancies I failed the 1-hour glucose test and almost failed the 3-hour. (Was eating SAD.) I desperately want to pass the 1-hour this time.

I've read that going from a very low-carb diet to your pregnancy glucose test can actually cause you to fail it because your body is freaked out (my unscientific term) by the sudden influx of a massive amount of sugar. I've also heard that upping your carbs to about 100-150g per day for a few days before your glucose test can make you more likely to pass.

Any suggestions for which carbs to add? I am debating between beans (kidney, black), white rice, or potatoes. (I am definitely avoiding any and all wheat.) Any particular reason I should pick one (or two) over the others?

Thanks!

[Dr. Bork Bork]

I found that eating more fat kept my sugar steady as opposed to adding more carbs, but I'm diabetic to begin with so I've never had to do the pregnancy glucose test. Sorry I can't give you more advice than that.

[Neckhammer]

Go with the potato and fruit option. Just sticking to the "no grains and no legumes" credo

[interzone]

I failed the 1-hour test when i was going to have my twins with ~145 because I had been eating low-carb since before I even got pregnant and didn't know it could affect that stupid test. I carb-loaded with fruit, sweet potatoes, and some non-primal sweets for 3 days before my 3-hour test and had numbers in the 70's and low 80's. It's only 3 days, so pick whatever you need to get your insulin response up enough to pass the test.

[Zach]

I honestly cant believe someone would eat VLC while pregnant.

[solstice]

I failed with my first pregnancy and remember having had toast with peanut butter for breakfast...for my second I simply fasted that morning and passed with flying colors.

[Tribal Rob]

Is there a reason you have to have it? There is debate as to wether gestational diabeties even exists. SO refused the test last pregancy, but we have the right to refuse any treatment in the UK as we arn't in a dictatorship

PM if you need links the SO has just piped up she has load of links to the info.

[emmie]

It's not a question of 'passing' the test or not. You want to get an accurate assessment of your blood sugar situation, and to do that you need to have been eating at least 150g of carbs for 3 days prior to the test. It doesn't matter what your source of carbs is, it's the carbs themselves that are important.

As far as I know, there is NO 'debate' as to whether gestational diabetes exists, and I would want to provide the best 'home' for my baby. To do that, your doctor needs accurate physical info.

[Tribal Rob]

Hello, Tribal Rob's SO here

There is actually much debate about the existence or not of GD. Even if we assume that GD does exist, there is most certainly debate over whether the GTT is an accurate indicator of GD.

I completely agree that it's not about "passing" the test or not, there is no benefit in giving your doctor false information about how your body deals with glucose. Which is why there is no logic in eating food you would not normally eat prior to the test. In the scenario above, all the test would show is how your body reacts to 3 days of eating 150g of carbs. If you would not normally eat that many carbs then the information provided by the test is irrelevant to you, your lifestyle and your baby.

Why do you want to pass the test? Is it because you want to avoid any interventions that the doctors may push on you if you get a positive result? Then simply decline the test. They cannot push interventions on you with no reason, and the absence of information is not reason enough in itself. Even if you consented to the test, you would not be obliged to consent to anything else.

Remember it is your body, your baby, your birth. You are "allowed" to accept or decline any treatment or care you are offered. If you don't want the test, don't have it.

We have a fantastic Human Rights barrister here in the UK, Elizabeth Prochaska, who runs a charity called Birthrights - Birthrights | Protecting human rights in childbirth. On her website are some very informative factsheets on Human Rights for pregnant women, including one on consenting to treatment. They are written with the UK in mind so some finer points of the law may be different in the US, but the principles are the same. They have contacts with organisations in other countries who may be able to advise you should you need it.

Anyway, here are some links to various websites, articles and information on GD. Take from them what you will and make up your own mind

Gestational Diabetes: The Emperor Has No Clothes - FROM RONNIE Falcão's MIDWIFE ARCHIVES

Stand and Deliver: Michel Odent on GD

Gestational Diabetes: What is GD?

Gestational Diabetes - from Ronnie Falcão's Midwife Archives

[slowcooker]

I expressed a little concern about this test for my fiance and the obstetrician said the sugar load is quite small - like eating 7 or 8 jellybeans.. What happens if you fail? Another test?