If you’re pregnant, you’re in store for a ton of tests to assess your and your baby’s health, but one of the most time-consuming may be the glucose tolerance test. In a nutshell, you chug a syrupy drink, sit around for awhile, then have your blood drawn. You’ll want to bring a LOT of magazines … but youwon’t want to skip this test.
“The glucose tolerance test determines if a pregnant woman has gestational diabetes,” explains Jenny Jaque, an OB/GYN at Health Goes Female. That’s diabetes that crops up during pregnancy, and it’s incredibly common affecting as many as 18 percent of expectant women.
Gestational diabetes is caused by rising hormone levels, which can dampen your body’s ability to metabolize sugar in your bloodstream. If untreated, all that extra sugar will go to your baby, making him overweight and at risk for premature labor. What’s more, the disease is often symptomless, so you’d never know you had it … that is, unless you take the glucose test.