Pregnancy & Baby 

Advertisement

Intense thirst during pregnancy

Thirst is usually related to the amount of water your body is losing through urination, perspiration and evaporation. During pregnancy, your metabolic rate increases so you are losing larger amounts of water. Your body is also conserving water, preparing for added blood volume and for the increased demands of pregnancy. Increased thirst is a necessary adaptation that encourages you to drink more and can be very normal.

When thirst is excessive, however, doctors may begin to think about diabetes mellitus. Typically you would also experience fatigue and frequent urination but these symptoms are often present in pregnancy without diabetes as well.

If you have a previous history of gestational diabetes or a close relative with diabetes, you may wish to talk to your doctor to check on this problem. All pregnant women are screened in some way for gestational diabetes (GDM) between 24 and 28 weeks.

While thirst may be normal, it is worthwhile to mention it to your doctor.

Delicious     Digg     reddit     Facebook     StumbleUpon

  Get the latest iVillage news on your desktop    Sign up for more iVillage RSS feeds

© iVillage Limited 2000-2008. All rights reserved. | © iVillage inc. 1995-2008. All rights reserved.
iVillage Ltd is a UK company registered in England & Wales (3837269) at 80-110 New Oxford Street, London WC1 1HB