Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffGestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that occurs only during pregnancy. Like other forms of diabetes, gestational diabetes affects the way your body uses sugar (glucose) — your body's main source of fuel. Gestational diabetes can cause high blood sugar levels that are unlikely to cause problems for you, but can threaten the health of your unborn baby.
Any pregnancy complication is concerning, but there's good news. You can manage gestational diabetes by eating healthy foods, exercising regularly and, if necessary, taking medication. Taking good care of yourself can help ensure a healthy pregnancy for you and a healthy start for your baby.
Fortunately, gestational diabetes is usually short-lived. Blood sugar levels typically return to normal soon after delivery.
- Strehlow SL, et al. Diabetes mellitus & pregnancy. In: DeCherney AH, et al. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Obstetrics & Gynecology. 10th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2385290. Accessed Jan. 9, 2009.
- Jovanovic L. Screening and diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 5, 2009.
- Jovanovic L. Treatment and course of gestational diabetes mellitus. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 9, 2009.
- Diabetes. In: Cunningham FG, et al. Williams Obstetrics. 22nd ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill; 2005:1172.
- Cheng YV, et al. Gestational weight gain and gestational diabetes mellitus. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2008;112:1015.
- Gestational diabetes. American Diabetes Association. http://www.diabetes.org/gestational-diabetes.jsp. Accessed Jan. 6, 2009.
- Gilmartin AH, et al. Gestational diabetes mellitus. Reviews in Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2008;1:129. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=19015764. Accessed Jan. 3, 2009.
