What is gestational diabetes?

In this section, we will explore how diabetes can arise in pregnancy. We will discuss some of the physiological changes that a pregnant woman goes through and then go on to the risk factors that make some women have a higher chance of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (or GDM).

GDM is a type of diabetes that affects pregnant women, usually during the second or third trimester. In the vast majority of cases, gestational diabetes disappears after the baby is born.

Gestational diabetes is a common condition that can affect up to 5% of pregnancies in the UK. Diabetes is a condition in which the amount of glucose in the blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly.

Glucose is a sugar that comes from the digestion of starchy foods such as bread, rice, potatoes, chapatis, yams and plantain, from sugar and other sweet foods, and from the liver which makes some glucose. To be used as fuel, glucose has to enter the cells of the body. In order to do this, the body needs a hormone called insulin.

Diabetes UK has some further information about gestational diabetes.