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| **Health Information & Media - Publications****Are You at Risk for Gestational Diabetes?**
**Contents**- What is gestational diabetes?                      
- Why do some women get gestational diabetes?                             
- How do I know if I'm at risk?                 
- Should I get tested?               
- What is involved in getting tested?                     
- What if I don't get treated for gestational diabetes?
- What should I do if I have gestational diabetes?               

**What    is gestational diabetes?**

Gestational diabetes (pronounced jess-tay-shun-ul    die-uh-beet-eez) is a type of diabetes, or high blood sugar, that only pregnant women get.    In fact, the word gestational means pregnant. If a woman gets high blood sugar when she's    pregnant, but she never had high blood sugar before, she has gestational diabetes. Nearly    135,000 pregnant women get the condition every year, making it one of the top health    concerns related to pregnancy. 

If not treated, gestational diabetes can cause problems for mothers and    babies. Some of these problems can be serious.

**But there is some good news:**
- Most of the time, gestational diabetes goes away after the baby is born.        The changes in your body that cause gestational diabetes normally occur only when you are        pregnant. After the baby is born, your body goes back to normal and the condition goes        away.  
- Gestational diabetes is treatable, especially if you find out about it        early in your pregnancy. The best way to control gestational diabetes is to find out you        have it early and start treatment quickly. 
- Treating gestational diabetes greatly lowers the baby's chances of        having problems. 

**Why do some women get gestational diabetes?**

Usually, the body breaks down much of the food you eat into a type of    sugar, called glucose (pronounced gloo-kos). Because glucose moves from the stomach into    the blood, some people use the term blood sugar, instead of glucose. Your body makes a    hormone called insulin (pronounced in-suh-lin) that moves glucose out of the blood and    into the cells of the body. In women with gestational diabetes, the glucose can't get into    the cells, so the amount of glucose in the blood gets higher and higher. This is called    high blood sugar or diabetes. 

**How do I know if I'm at risk?**
**Answer the questions below to learn your risk level        for gestational diabetes.** 
Yes
No1.Are you a member of a high-risk ethnic group *(Hispanic,        African American,**Native American,**South or East Asian,**Pacific        Islander, or**Indigenous Australian)?*       

2.Are you overweight or very overweight?                    

3.Are you related to anyone who has diabetes now or had        diabetes in their lifetime?     

4.Are you older than 25?     

5.Did you have gestational diabetes with a past pregnancy?             

6.Have you had a stillbirth or a very large baby with a past        pregnancy?     

            If you answered **YES** to **TWO or more** of these questions,            you are at **HIGH RISK** for gestational diabetes.
            If you answered **YES** to **ONLY ONE** of these questions, you            are at **AVERAGE RISK** for gestational diabetes.
            If you answered **NO** to **ALL of these questions**, you are at            **LOW RISK** for gestational diabetes.
**Should I get tested?**

**If you are at...****You should...****High Risk**Get tested as soon as you know you are pregnant.If your first test is negative, get tested again when you are between 24        and 28 weeks pregnant.**Average Risk**Get tested when you are between 24 and 28 weeks pregnant.**Lower Risk**Don't get tested unless your doctor or nurse tells you that you should.
Keep in mind that every pregnancy is different. Even    if you didn't have gestational diabetes when you were pregnant before, you might get it    during your current pregnancy. Or, if you had gestational diabetes before, you may not get    it with this pregnancy. Follow your doctor's or nurse's advice about your risk level and    getting tested.

**What is involved in getting tested?**

Tests for gestational diabetes have two parts. First, you drink about one    full glass of a sugar drink. Then, after a certain amount of time, a doctor, nurse, or    other healthcare worker takes a sample of your blood and tests the blood to see how much    sugar is in it (called a blood sugar test). 

If the level of sugar in your blood is normal, then you probably don't    have gestational diabetes. 

If your blood sugar level is high, then you might have gestational    diabetes. Your doctor or nurse may want you to take another blood test if your blood sugar    level is high. Your doctor or nurse will tell you more about the test before you take it. 

You may have to follow a special diet for a few days or fast (not eat or    drink anything but water) for a few hours before you take the test. Ask your doctor or    nurse if you have to follow any special instructions before you get tested.

**What if I don't get treated for gestational diabetes?**

Most women with gestational diabetes have healthy pregnancies and healthy    babies because they control their condition. Without treatment, mothers with this    condition could have very large babies. These mothers may have a harder time with labor    and natural delivery (through the vagina). Some mothers need surgery to deliver their    bigger babies, which can increase the mother's risk of infection. Mothers who have their    babies by surgery also take a longer time to recover. 

Children whose mothers had gestational diabetes are at higher risk for    certain health problems:
- As babies, they are at higher risk for Respiratory Distress Syndrome        (RDS), a disease that makes it hard for the baby to breathe.  
- They are more likely to be obese (very overweight) as children or        adults, which can lead to other health problems.  
- They are at higher risk for getting diabetes, or high blood sugar, as        they get older. 

**What should I do if I have gestational diabetes?**

If your doctor or nurse tells you that you have gestational diabetes, you    will need to follow a treatment plan to keep the condition under control. Most treatment    plans include testing your blood sugar level, eating a healthy diet, and getting regular    physical activity. Some women also need to take insulin as part of their treatment plan. 

More and more women with gestational diabetes have healthy pregnancies and    healthy babies because they follow their treatment plan and control their blood sugar    level.

**Managing Gestational Diabetes: Your Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy**,    a booklet from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), talks    about general ways to stay healthy with gestational diabetes. The booklet combines advice    from experts who treat gestational diabetes with nearly 40 years of scientific research on    the health of mothers, children, and families. It tells you and your family what causes    gestational diabetes, what having it means for you and your baby, and what you can do if    you have it. 

You can learn more about gestational diabetes and how to stay healthy    during your pregnancy from the NICHD booklet, Understanding Gestational    Diabetes: A Practical Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. To get your free copy of the    booklet, contact the NICHD Clearinghouse at:    1-800-370-2943    Fax: (301) 984-1473    E-mail: NICHDClearinghouse@mail.nih.gov    Internet: http://www.nichd.nih.gov

U.S.    Department of Health and Human Services    Public Health Service    National Institutes of Health    National Institute of Child Health and Human Development         

NIH Pub. No. 00-4818    December 2000 

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