This one is in my inbox often, so I figured it deserved its own post! Your OB or midwife will order the glucose tolerance test somewhere between 24-28 weeks of pregnancy to test for gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes has its fair share of risks and is very important to be aware of and proactive about if a pregnant mom has it. Contrary to popular opinion - you can have GD after previous pregnancies where you did not. It's also important to note that the test has a wide margin of error, missing many women who have GD and diagnoses others who don’t have it at all.
The issues I have with the status quo of this test are:
A) the amount of sugar all at once, in a fasted state - I would not consume 50 grams of processed sugar at any point during pregnancy - and certainly not by itself. You have to ask yourself - is this a reliable way to test at all? Or is it the most *convenient*? 💡
B) the ingredients in glucola include food dyes, pesticide laden corn, and BVO - (fyi, BVO is a flame retardant and banned in many countries but not here - shocker). Research has found that brominated flame retardants build up in the body and breast milk.
Before you ask...what about the "dye free" ones? You have to read the labels and decide for yourself, but even if the drink doesn’t contain something as obviously noxious as BVO, they pretty much all contain artificial flavors & GMO high fructose corn syrup. It's a hard pass for me. This is one question I bring up when interviewing my birth provider. If they're firm on it - I'm out.✌🏻
Here are some alternative options:
Consider a Hemoglobin A1C test early in pregnancy
Eat a balanced diet and test glucose at home randomly
Do the test but choose alternatives like a balanced breakfast, organic orange or grape juice, or "the jelly bean test" - they even make GMO/ dye free ones!
All of these options are better, in my opinion, than chugging 50 grams of sugar in less than 5 minutes and then feeling nauseous for an hour before getting your blood drawn. Make waves, y'all. Demand better for yourself and your baby.
How after would you randomly test your glucose? I am 24 weeks pregnant and would Really like to opt out of the glucose test, but I also do not want to put my body/baby in danger by not testing or checking at all. I did have my A1C checked earlier on in pregnancy I believe...