Insulin Teaching

Your provider will first confirm that insulin therapy is appropriate for your situation based on your blood glucose logs, your gestational age, and your overall pregnancy health. If insulin is recommended, your teaching session will be scheduled as a dedicated appointment.

Before your session, it can be helpful to keep a log of your current blood glucose readings and any questions that have come to mind since your diagnosis. Come prepared to discuss your daily routine — meals, schedule, and activity level — as this information helps your provider personalize your insulin regimen. Wear comfortable clothing, and if possible, bring a support person who will be helping you at home.

Your clinical team will walk you through how insulin works, why it is used in gestational diabetes management, and how it fits into your overall care plan. You will learn how to prepare and administer an insulin injection correctly, including how to handle and store insulin, select injection sites, rotate sites to avoid tissue buildup, and recognize and respond to signs of low blood sugar.

You will also learn how to monitor your blood glucose at home, including how often to check, when to check, what your target ranges are, and how to log your readings to share with your provider. Your provider will review the specific type and dosage of insulin prescribed, explain when and how to adjust if advised, and answer every question you have. You’ll practice the injection technique before you leave, so you are not doing it alone for the first time at home.

Once you begin insulin therapy, your provider will monitor your blood glucose logs at your regular prenatal appointments and adjust your dosage as needed throughout your pregnancy. Gestational diabetes management is not static; your insulin needs may change as your pregnancy progresses, and your team will stay attentive to those changes.

If you have questions between appointments, your Women's HealthFirst provider and clinical team are available to you through the athenahealth patient portal. You can send messages, submit blood glucose logs, and receive guidance without waiting for your next scheduled visit.

Gestational diabetes does require closer monitoring and active management, but many women with gestational diabetes have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies when blood sugar is well-controlled. Your Women's HealthFirst provider will work with you throughout your pregnancy to keep you and your baby as safe as possible.

Diet and carbohydrate management can effectively control blood sugar for many patients with gestational diabetes. However, the hormones produced by the placenta can make glucose management difficult regardless of dietary choices, particularly for fasting blood glucose levels, which diet alone cannot lower. Insulin is safe during pregnancy and provides reliable, controllable blood sugar management when diet is not sufficient.

Yes. Insulin does not cross the placenta, so it does not directly affect your baby. It works within your own bloodstream to help your body use glucose appropriately. Well-controlled blood sugar actually reduces risks to your baby, including large birth weight, preterm delivery, and neonatal blood sugar complications.

Your session covers how insulin works, the type and dose prescribed for you, how to prepare and administer injections, how to select and rotate injection sites, how to store insulin, how to monitor your blood glucose at home, what your target blood glucose ranges are, and how to recognize and respond to low blood sugar. You will practice the injection technique during the session before you leave.

Most patients who begin insulin therapy for gestational diabetes will continue it for the remainder of their pregnancy, with dosage adjustments as needed. Your provider will monitor your blood glucose logs at every prenatal visit and adjust your regimen based on how your pregnancy is progressing.

For most women, gestational diabetes resolves after delivery once the placental hormones are no longer present. Your provider will recommend postpartum blood glucose testing, typically at your six-week visit, to confirm that your levels have returned to normal. 

Most patients with gestational diabetes check blood glucose four times daily — once fasting in the morning, and once one or two hours after each main meal. Your provider will give you your specific target ranges and let you know if any adjustment to this schedule is needed for your situation.

Yes. Established patients can send messages, submit blood glucose logs, and ask questions through the athenahealth patient portal at any time. Your clinical team will respond with guidance and communicate any needed adjustments to your care plan between visits.