Kelly Osbourne is in her third trimester of pregnancy and was recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes, she told People magazine.
Gestational diabetes refers to diabetes that a patient develops for the first time during pregnancy. The condition impacts how cells use sugar and can lead to high blood sugar, which can affect the baby's health, according to Mayo Clinic. It usually appears during the middle of pregnancy, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and typically subsides after the baby is delivered. However, gestational diabetes does increases the risk for Type 2 diabetes later in life, according to Mayo Clinic.
Osbourne, whose parents are Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, told People the diagnosis was disappointing but not surprising.
"This whole pregnancy, I’ve had no cravings except for sugar, which is something I’ve never had before.”
The singer is expecting with Slipknot’s Sid Wilson, and it's her first child, which she announced on Instagram May 12.
“I wasn’t eating right,” Osbourne said to People. “The No. 1 thing for me that I realized was taking me down was sugary drinks, and it was juice. Because even though I was drinking fresh pressed juice, it still had a lot more sugar than I needed.”
Osbourne, 37, said her doctors diagnosed her with gestational diabetes after she told them she was concerned about rapid weight gain, fatigue and ankle swelling. She told People the diagnosis coming this late in her pregnancy made her think she suddenly did something wrong to prompt the condition.
"At first I thought it was something that I had done. I only got diagnosed with it well into my third trimester, so it wasn’t like I developed it, as some people get it, from the get-go when they’re pregnant. I got it in my third trimester and basically, I thought it was something that I had done wrong.”
Since the diagnosis, Osbourne has eaten less sugar, and her body went through an adjustment period.
“As soon as I cut the sugar out, I had a bit of a headache for a while. I’m not going to lie. It’s a bit of a shock to your system,” she told the magazine.
But soon enough, Osbourne started to see positive results.
“Overall, my skin cleared up," she said. "I don’t have to wear any makeup. My friends that haven’t seen me since I started my third trimester, now that they see me, they’re like, ‘Whoa. What changed? Your skin is perfect,’ and I know that sometimes that has to do with pregnancy, but I had pregnancy acne. I cut the sugar out, and it completely went away.”
Another benefit is, “I haven’t had to wear compression socks once since I cut the sugar out, which is unreal for pregnancy,” she added. “I just have more energy. I’m sleeping better. You don’t realize what it’s doing to you until you take it away is all I can say.”
Osbourne said a silver lining of being diagnosed with gestational diabetes is motivation and consistency in her choices.
“I wish I had this kind of incentive prior because I’ve never been able to stick to anything a hundred percent the way that I have been doing this because I’m not doing it for myself,” Osbourne said. “I’m doing it for my baby. But I have learned — I can’t even begin to tell you the changes that it’s made.”
