- Listen to the fetal heart rate for abnormal rhythms
- Check the umbilical cord for blood flow and where it attaches to the placenta
- Look at the placenta to make sure it’s not covering your cervix (placenta previa)
- Check your uterus, ovaries and cervix
- Measure the amount of amniotic fluid
If any abnormalities are found, Jayaprabhu explains the patient will be seen by the Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist with the goal of providing the best outcome for the baby and the mother.
Glucose tolerance test
During weeks 24 to 28, screening for gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy, without a previous diagnosis of diabetes) is performed.
Jayaprabhu describes the testing.
“Usually the screening is performed by giving the non-fasting patient a 50-gram glucose drink and then checking the blood sugar one hour afterwards. If the patient has a blood sugar of greater than 135, then a three-hour glucose test is performed. This test includes checking a fasting blood sugar and then giving the patient a 100-gram glucose drink. This is followed by checking sugars at one, two and three hours after the drink.”
If only one of your readings is abnormal, your doctor may suggest some changes to your diet and/or test you again later in the pregnancy, the American Pregnancy Association says. If two or more of your readings come back abnormal, you’ll be diagnosed with gestational diabetes and your doctor will talk to you about a treatment plan.
Identifying and treating gestational diabetes is important, as it can lead to larger babies, difficulty during delivery, C-sections, stillbirths, high blood pressure in the mother and an increased risk of the mother developing type 2 diabetes after the pregnancy.
Knowing what to expect when you go to your second trimester appointments can lower your stress levels and allow you to fully enjoy the second trimester of your pregnancy.