Gestational diabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are elevated during pregnancy in a woman who has not previously been diagnosed with diabetes. Symptoms of diabetes typically disappear following delivery.

Unlike type 1 diabetes, gestational diabetes is not caused by a lack of insulin, but by blocking effects of other hormones on the insulin that is produced, a condition referred to as insulin resistance.

Approximately 3 to 5 percent of all pregnant women in the United States are diagnosed with gestational diabetes.

What are the Risks Factors Associated with
Gestational Diabetes?
Although any woman might develop gestational diabetes during pregnancy, some of the factors that may increase risk are:

• obesity
• family history of diabetes
• having given birth previously to a very large infant, a still birth, or a child with a birth defect
• having too much amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios)
• women who are older than 25 are at greater risk than younger women

Although increased glucose in the urine is often included in the list of risk factors, it is not believed to be a reliable indicator for gestational diabetes.