O’Sullivan Test For Pregnant Women
The O’Sullivan test is designed to determine the level of blood sugar in a pregnant woman. In other words, this test is intended to measure blood sugar levels to determine if there is a risk of gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is a condition in which blood sugar rises due to the hormonal changes that are typical during a pregnancy. Thus, it can affect the health of the expectant mother as well as the normal development of the fetus and subsequent birth.
As you can see, it can impair your baby’s health. Therefore, the O’Sullivan test is now mandatory for all pregnant women in many countries.
The purpose of the O’Sullivan test
The O’Sullivan test does not diagnose gestational diabetes. Instead, the main purpose is to exclude its existence. The results allow doctors to determine two things:
- The mother does not have gestational diabetes.
- She has no risk of developing it.
Some consider it the best test in terms of cost, benefit and effectiveness to rule out gestational diabetes. If there is any change in the results, the doctor will perform another, more specific test called the glucose tolerance test. It is therefore important to note that the test results may result in a false positive.
The procedure for the O’Sullivan test
The woman does not have to take the O’Sullivan test on an empty stomach. The first thing your doctor does is take a blood test to quantify your glucose level. Then she will drink approx. 2.5 dl of a solution consisting of water and glucose.
The woman then sits for an hour after drinking the sugar mixture without eating or drinking anything else. After that time, the laboratory staff takes a new blood sample to quantify the glucose level again. The result indicates whether her insulin did a good job or not.
If the results of the O’Sullivan test are unambiguous or give evidence of glucose intolerance, your doctor will need to perform the glucose tolerance test to confirm this.
When do you complete the O’Sullivan test?
The O’Sullivan test is usually performed once between the 24th and 28th week of pregnancy. This is the most appropriate time since the hormonal changes usually alter the function of the insulin in the mother at this stage. However, they may need to complete the test more than once.
If a woman had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy, the doctor will perform the test during the first trimester. The assumption is that they risk getting it back. This measure also applies when the mother meets one or more of the following criteria:
- She is over 35 years old
- There is a family history of diabetes (especially one of the parents)
- She was overweight before pregnancy
- She has given birth to an overweight baby in the past
Other things to consider
There is a lot of controversy surrounding the O’Sullivan test, and in many countries this test is only taken when there is an imminent risk. The controversy is due to the fact that such a high glucose intake can be toxic for some women.
For example, some may vomit glucose while drinking it. Then this can happen again if they repeat the test a few days later. For this reason, this test may be like torture for some expectant mothers. Thus, the alternative is to reserve it only for high-risk cases.
Countries where the test is not mandatory must follow a protocol where the mother is informed of the risk of the test and can choose whether to take it or not. Similarly, there are still doubts about the side effects on the health of the mother and baby due to the excess glucose intake.
