Second trimester of pregnancy analysis
When the positive appears in the pregnancy test, you begin to plan and imagine what the next few months will be like. But normally, none of us stop to think about all the controls that we will have to pass. Many of these tests are unknown to most women, as is the O'Sullivan's test.
The O'Sullivan Test or glucose intolerance test, performed on women during pregnancy. It is a routine test that is performed between weeks 24 and 28 of gestation. It actually has a very high false positive rate, so in some cases, another test will be done.
O'Sullivan's test
This test is performed on an empty stomach and does not require any prior preparation. In the same health center, you will have a first blood draw, then you will have to take a glucose concentrate. An hour after the first extraction, a second sample will be taken and you can go home.
With this test, glucose levels in the blood are measured, which can suffer alterations during pregnancy. It is used to detect possible cases of gestational diabetes, which is not dangerous a priori for the fetus, but if it exists, measures must be taken so that it does not entail greater risks.
Glucose concentrate used in the O'Sullivan Test
What is the long curve
If the levels appear altered in the results of the first test, a second test is done, which is known as the long curve. In this case, you must follow some previous instructions: During the 3 days prior to the appointment, you will have to make a diet rich in carbohydrates and you must do a 12-hour fast.
In this case, the test is done in the hospital. As on the first occasion, an extraction is carried out, prior to ingesting the glucose concentrate. Next you will take the concentrate. It is usually fresh and does not have an unpleasant taste, although when taken on an empty stomach it falls heavy on the stomach.
It is very important that no effort is made during the test. You must be seated and as relaxed as possible, in the same waiting room. Every hour a new extraction is made, until completing the 4 samples that are needed.
Risk groups
The long curve is performed when the results of the O'Sullivan's test give altered levels of glucose in the blood. But in addition, it is done to women who are in one of the highest risk groups. As they are:
- Women over 35 years of age
- Cases in which there is overweight
- If there is a first-degree family history (mother, father, siblings) with diabetes
My personal experience
When I first went to my midwife, I left the consultation with a folder full of appointments for tests, analytics and nutritional recommendations. He explained many things to me, but he forgot to mention what would happen if in that happy test the levels were altered, or that in fact I was in a risk group.
My scare was when a few days after the first test, they called me from the hospital, to let me know that I had to do the long curve, a nurse with very little desire to explain why, gave me the guidelines, told me the day that I had the proof and little else. I was left with a terrible disgust, thinking that I had diabetes and that my baby was in danger.
Thanks to other mothers sharing their experience online, I was able to ask the thousands of queries that arose in the days before the test. I was quite calm knowing that it was more routine than what they told me. Or rather they did not say since no one gave me that information.
It is comforting to find an answer to all those doubts that may arise, from the hand of other women who have gone through the same thing. Logically always You have to turn to doctors, but it never hurts to know first-hand experiences.
By the way, my test came back negative!