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Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)--��that can develop during pregnancy in women who don’t already have��the condition--affects approximately ten percent of pregnant women.

������occurs��during pregnancy��when��the��body can’t make enough��insulin,��a hormone made by��the��pancreas that acts like a key to let blood sugar into the cells in your body for use as energy.��

The hormonal fluctuations that the body undergoes during pregnancy, which causes changes such as weight gain, can��cause��the��body’s cells to use insulin less effectively. All pregnant women experience some����during late pregnancy, but��some have��it��even before they��become��pregnant. Their��pregnancies��start��with a��greater��need for insulin and are more likely to��experience��gestational diabetes.��

But there’s good news, says Melissa Katz,��MD,��Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine - �ձ�avɫ��Ƭ Medical College and Cornell University and��Assistant Attending Physician -��NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.��

“The chances of being diagnosed with GDM can be markedly decreased by starting pregnancy at a normal weight and with a healthy diet,”��Dr. Katz��says. “Women should not eat an excess of carbohydrates.��Having a reasonable pre-pregnancy exercise regimen is also helpful.”��

Around 70% of cases can be treated with diet modifications and exercise.��

“The mother must adjust her diet��so the baby receives an appropriate amount of sugar, rather than excessive quantities,”��Dr. Katz explains. “This is essential to decrease the risk of complications.”��

Those complications can include��the baby��being born��large for their gestational age;����(low blood sugar)��at birth;��congenital malformations; and pre-term delivery.��

About 30% of��pregnant women��may need to take insulin or other medication to lower her glucose level.��

����’s important for mothers with GDM to recognize that a normal glucose level is important, regardless of whether it is achieved with diet��or��medication” Dr. Katz adds.��

The consequences of poor glucose control during pregnancy can include����(when a woman who previously had normal blood pressure suddenly develops high blood pressure and protein in her urine or other problems after 20 weeks of pregnancy); gestational hypertension;��or��excess amniotic fluid.��

Though testing for GDM is usually conducted around the 24th��to 28th��week of pregnancy,��it��may be done earlier if the mother is in a high-risk category, for��example, if the woman has polycystic ovarian syndrome, prediabetes, and/or obesity.��Also��at higher risk for GDM are women with a family history of Type 2 diabetes, those are older, and those who use steroids during pregnancy.��

“Preconception counseling is essential for all women with any risk factors,” Dr. Katz says. “Pre-pregnancy weight loss and nutritional education should be encouraged for overweight or obese women.”��

For the mother,��GDM usually resolves when the baby is delivered. But the condition can serve as a��message��about her��future health and pregnancies.��

“A��minority of women will remain diabetic or prediabetic,”��she��says. “Women with GDM have a ten-fold increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life,��and are likely to have a recurrence in subsequent pregnancies.��It’s essential that they implement the lifestyle modifications they learned during pregnancy.”��