If diet and exercise modifications alone fail to control glucose levels, insulin may be needed. Gestational diabetes can be easily diagnosed. Pregnant women are routinely screened for gestational diabetes around the sixth month of pregnancy. The screening test measures your blood sugar response to glucose that is consumed in a sugary drink. If blood sugar levels are elevated during the screening test, your doctor or midwife will order an additional test to confirm gestational diabetes.
Some women are more at risk for developing gestational diabetes than others are.
Gestational diabetes is more likely to occur in women that are age 25 or greater, have a family history of diabetes, have had gestational diabetes in a prior pregnancy, are overweight, have previously delivered a baby weighing more than 9 pounds, have high blood pressure, are carrying more than one fetus, and have previously had a miscarriage or stillbirth. Left untreated, gestational diabetes poses risks to the unborn baby. If blood glucose levels in the mother remain elevated, the fetus will grow excessively large and develop a condition called macrosomia. In some instances the fetus grows so big that vaginal delivery is not possible. Women who have had gestational diabetes are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life.