Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

gestational diabetes mellitus, temporary condition in which blood sugar (glucose) levels increase during pregnancy and return to normal after delivery.

A healthy pregnancy is characterized by increased nutrient utilization, increased insulin resistance, and increased insulin secretion. Blood glucose concentrations tend to be lower in pregnant women than in nonpregnant women because the mother is supplying glucose to the growing fetus. All pregnant women have some degree of insulin resistance as a result of the normal secretion of several placental hormones, including placental growth hormone, placental lactogen, progesterone, and corticotropin-releasing hormone, which stimulates the production of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in the pituitary gland and cortisol in the adrenal glands. In some cases, insulin resistance is increased by excessive weight gain during pregnancy. If insulin secretion does not increase sufficiently to counter the insulin resistance imposed by these changes, gestational diabetes occurs. The condition is diagnosed when blood glucose concentrations reach 92–125 mg per 100 ml (5.1–6.9 mmol/l) after fasting or when blood glucose concentrations equal or exceed 180 mg per 100 ml (10.0 mmol/l) one hour after ingesting a glucose-rich solution or reach 153–199 mg per 100 ml (8.5–11.0 mmol/l) two hours after ingesting the solution.

The frequency worldwide of gestational diabetes varies from about 1 to 15 percent of pregnant women. The large variability in frequency is partly due to the fact that there is no widely agreed upon definition of gestational diabetes. However, no matter how it is defined, it is more common among obese women and African American and Asian women than among women of European descent. The outcomes of gestational diabetes also vary widely, ranging from large babies (fetal macrosomia), birth trauma, and neonatal hypoglycemia (abnormally low blood glucose levels) to maternal preeclampsia and increased perinatal morbidity.

Risk factors for gestational diabetes include older age, obesity, previous delivery of a large baby, and a family history of diabetes mellitus. Some physicians believe that all pregnant women should be tested for gestational diabetes at 24 to 28 weeks of gestation, whereas other physicians limit testing to women who have risk factors for gestational diabetes. The primary method used to diagnose the condition is an oral glucose tolerance test, in which blood glucose is measured hourly for several hours after ingestion of a large quantity of glucose (usually 75 or 100 grams). While gestational diabetes is by definition transient, affected women have an increased risk of developing type II diabetes later in life.