Part 1 - Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) and Prevention

Did you know?

GDM goes away after a woman delivers her baby – but she and her child are still at higher risk of getting diabetes later in life because she had GDM while she was pregnant.

Women with diabetes can get pregnant. This is not GDM. These women will have diabetes during the first three months of their pregnancy (first trimester).

Overview of Gestational Diabetes (GDM)

Diabetes means having high blood sugar and gestational means the 9 months while the baby is growing inside of you. So gestational diabetes means “diabetes while a woman is pregnant,” and it happens after the first three months (trimester).

Why do women get GDM?

We do not know all the reasons why women get diabetes after the first trimester when they are pregnant, but these things can make it more likely:

  • Insulin is a hormone that helps the body use sugar for energy.
  • We do know that insulin does not always work well during pregnancy. This is called insulin resistance. Insulin resistance can cause too much sugar in the blood and make a woman gain too much weight during pregnancy. Insulin resistance can also happen during puberty when teenagers are growing into adults. For this reason, it is more common for people to get diabetes during pregnancy and puberty.
  • Some women who get diabetes during pregnancy are overweight before they get pregnant.
  • Some women who get diabetes during pregnancy have diabetes in their family.
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