Treating a Low in Pregnancy

Low blood sugar is not a risk in diet-managed GDM. It becomes one once you start insulin, and it is worth knowing the drill before you need it.

A low is generally a reading below 70 mg/dL. The symptoms are shakiness, sudden hunger, sweating, a fast heartbeat, dizziness, headache, tiredness or blurred vision. In pregnancy some of these overlap with how you may feel anyway, which is why testing rather than guessing matters.

What to do

1. Take 15 to 20 grams of fast-acting glucose straight away.
2. Wait 15 minutes.
3. Test again.
4. If still below 70 mg/dL, repeat.

Fifteen grams is about three or four glucose tablets, three teaspoons of sugar or glucose powder in water, or half a cup of regular fruit juice.

Not chocolate, not biscuits, not a milk sweet — the fat in them slows absorption when you need speed.

Once you have recovered, if your next meal is more than an hour away, eat a small snack with some protein in it.

Then tell your team. A low means your insulin dose, your meal timing, or both need adjusting — it is not something to absorb quietly, particularly in pregnancy.

Keep glucose in your handbag, by your bed, and at work.