Skip to content
gestational diabetes

File:Blue_circle_for_diabetes.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ126691· pop 51· linked from 413 articles

gestational diabetes

Sign in to save

Also known as GDM, Gestational diabetes mellitus, Maternal gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational diabetes complicating pregnancy, childbirth, or the puerperium, Diabetes mellitus in the pueperium - baby delivered during previous episode of care (disorder), Diabetes mellitus, postpartum, Diabetes in Pregnancy, Diabetes, Gestational

condition in which a woman without diabetes develops high blood sugar levels during pregnancy

Key facts

Other names
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)
Specialty
Obstetrics and endocrinology
Symptoms
Typically few symptoms
Complications
Pre-eclampsia , stillbirth , depression, increased risk of requiring a caesarean section
Usual onset
Most common last three months of pregnancy
Causes
Not enough insulin in the setting of insulin resistance
Risk factors
Overweight , previously having gestational diabetes, family history of type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome
Diagnostic method
Screening blood tests
Prevention
Maintaining a healthy weight and exercising before pregnancy
Treatment
Diabetic diet , exercise, insulin injections
Frequency
~6% of pregnancies

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

38,682 papers

via PubMed

~40 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Gestational diabetes is a condition in which an individual without diabetes develops high blood sugar levels during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes generally results in few symptoms. Obesity increases the rate of pre-eclampsia, cesarean sections, and embryo macrosomia, as well as gestational diabetes. Babies born to individuals with poorly treated gestational diabetes are at increased risk of macrosomia, of having hypoglycemia after birth, and of jaundice. If untreated, diabetes can also result in stillbirth. Long term, children are at higher risk of being overweight and of developing type 2 diabetes.

Gestational diabetes can occur during pregnancy because of insulin resistance or reduced production of insulin. Risk factors include being overweight, previously having gestational diabetes, a family history of type 2 diabetes, and having polycystic ovarian syndrome. Diagnosis is by blood tests. For those at normal risk, screening is recommended between 24 and 28 weeks' gestation. For those at high risk, testing may occur at the first prenatal visit.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “gestational diabetes” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (3)