Gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a temporary type of diabetes that can develop in some women during the second half of pregnancy. Doctors usually check for the condition in pregnant women by doing a blood test, because women often are not aware that they have gestational diabetes.

With treatment, most women who have gestational diabetes will have healthy babies. Gestational diabetes is treated by making certain eating changes, exercising, checking blood sugar levels, and possibly taking insulin shots to keep blood sugar levels within a safe range.

Gestational diabetes usually goes away after the baby is born. But women who have gestational diabetes are more likely to develop diabetes later in life.

If the woman's blood sugar level cannot be controlled, gestational diabetes can cause problems, such as a baby that grows too large or a baby who is born with low blood sugar.

Credits

Author Jeannette Curtis
Author Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS
Editor Kathleen M. Ariss, MS
Editor Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor Tracy Landauer
Associate Editor Pat Truman
Primary Medical Reviewer Patrice Burgess, MD
- Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer Adam Husney, MD
- Family Medicine
Primary Medical Reviewer Kathleen Romito, MD
- Family Medicine
Last Updated May 25, 2007