Approximately three to five percent of all pregnant women in the United States are diagnosed as having gestational diabetes, a form of diabetes which starts, or is first recognized, during pregnancy. Diabetes is a disorder which prohibits the body from using food properly. After sugars and starches are digested in the stomach, they enter the bloodstream in the form of glucose.
Blood glucose is the substance that feeds our cells.
Glucose cannot enter the cells by itself. It depends on insulin to carry it through the cell wall openings. Insulin is manufactured by the pancreas, a gland that lies behind the stomach. Instead, glucose accumulates in the blood to high levels and is excreted into the urine through the kidneys. Unlike other forms of diabetes which are caused by lack of insulin production, women with gestational diabetes have plenty of insulin.