Gestational Diabetes: Tests to check your baby’s health

Your doctor will monitor
your baby’s health &
growth until delivery.

Since mothers with gestational diabetes are especially concerned with the health of their babies, doctors often suggest certain tests. Your doctor may ask you to have one or more of these tests during your last trimester and regularly until delivery to measure your baby’s growth and development.

• Ultrasound — Ultrasound tests show how far along your pregnancy is and the baby’s rate of growth. Using a machine with a screen that produces pictures and a movable arm that glides across your belly, it can show how many babies are in your womb, their position, and the outline and structure of their bodies.

• Kick Counts — Kick Counts is a simple home test that you do. Your doctor or nurse will ask you to count the number of times you feel your baby move during a certain time each day. The number of times your baby moves or kicks tells the doctor about your baby’s health. Here is a kick counts worksheet to help you record your tests.

• Non-Stress Test (NST) — Using a fetal monitor attached to your abdomen, this test measures changes in your baby’s heart rate when he or she kicks. Generally, a healthy baby’s heart will speed up with physical activity.

• Contraction Stress Test (CST) — Using a fetal monitor attached to your abdomen, this test measures your baby’s heart rate when you have a contraction, which helps the doctor to know how well your placenta is getting oxygen from you to your baby.

• Biophysical Profile (BPP) — Using ultrasound equipment, this test evaluates your baby’s movement, body tone, breathing, and the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding your baby.

• Amniocentesis — A sample of fluid is taken from the amniotic sac (bag of waters) by a needle through the mother’s abdomen. The fluid shows if the baby’s lungs are mature enough for the newborn to breathe on its own.

More about Gestational Diabetes

• What is Gestational Diabetes?
• How Do I Know If I Have Gestational Diabetes?
• Will My Baby Be Alright?
• Will I Be Alright?
• Managing Your Diabetes
• Tests To Check Your Baby’s Health
• Labor and Delivery
• Can I Get Diabetes Again?