Why Blood Sugar Matters Now

Glucose is the sugar your body uses for energy. It travels in your blood. The placenta is the organ that connects you to your baby. Glucose passes through it.

Think of the placenta as a supply line. Your baby's glucose comes from your blood. So your blood sugar level affects what your baby gets.

A pregnant person stands beside a round close-up of the womb, with a band of blood at the top, the placenta below it and the baby on its cord. Hormones from the placenta float out and more sugar cubes stay in the blood. The cubes cross to the baby, the baby grows larger, and after birth the wrapped newborn gets a blood sugar check while a test vial stands for the parent's glucose test later.

Pregnancy hormones make insulin work less well over time. Insulin is the hormone that lets glucose leave your blood and enter your cells.

Think of insulin as a key that opens your cells to glucose. Pregnancy hormones make that key turn less easily.

So more glucose stays in your blood, and blood sugar can rise.

Many people share steady blood sugar as a main goal with their care team. Steady means your levels stay in a range that supports you and your baby.

Your care team sets your personal targets. Those targets depend on your health and the stage of your pregnancy.

Key takeaways

• Glucose from your blood passes through the placenta to your baby.
• Pregnancy hormones make insulin work less well, so blood sugar can rise.
• Steady blood sugar is a shared goal, and your care team sets your personal targets.

Try it

Write one question about your own blood sugar targets to ask at your next visit.