Gestational diabetes affects women in various stages of pregnancy. It is a worrisome development affecting roughly nine or more percent of pregnant women, and even though close monitoring can detect the condition, there is precious little that can be done to prevent it. Furthermore, the presence of gestational diabetes is not necessarily linked to either a propensity for type-2 diabetes or a family history of type-1 diabetes.

For an overview of gestational glucose diabetes, here are some facts you must keep in mind:

1. Gestational diabetes is diagnosed via frequent blood tests during pregnancy checking blood glucose levels. There is no causation that makes one would-be mother more susceptible than another and thus testing of all expectant mothers is required to catch those presenting with the disease.
2. Studies have led physicians to conclude that a pregnant woman's sensitivity to insulin is adversely affected by pregnancy specific hormones, leading to a spiking of blood glucose levels.
3. There is danger of uncontrolled high blood glucose levels for the unborn children of thusly affected mothers. Problems with growth but also systemic chemical imbalances of such infants have been noted. One of the most commonly found birth defects is low blood sugar. Other risks associated with the children born of mothers with uncontrolled gestational diabetes is a heightened risk of developing obesity during their childhood years, which of course will put them at great risk of developing type-2 diabetes themselves — either during childhood or later on in adult life. At birth, such infants may also be subject of increased cases of jaundice as well as markedly low blood calcium which will affect overall systemic health of the growing child.
4. Gestational diabetes is considered reversible with proper management of the disease but follow up monitoring after birth of the child is highly recommended to ensure that the mother does not develop type-2 diabetes after pregnancy (for which she is now considered at a much heightened risk).
5. It is noteworthy that non-Caucasian mothers appear to be at higher risk for developing gestational diabetes than their Caucasian counterparts. Smokers — even if smoking cessation occurred prior to pregnancy or during early pregnancy — are at higher risk for the development of the disease.

It is apparent that gestational diabetes is a serious condition which requires immediate and concise medical attention and yet poor prenatal care time and again leads to maternal and infant complications which may be traced back to the uncontrolled glucose spikes that are repeated throughout the day. This had led to more aggressive advertising campaigns seeking to compel would-be mothers to visit their health care professionals and follow through on all the scheduled prenatal visits. In some cases it appears that this campaign is effective since more cases of gestational diabetes are being detected per capita; others suggest that this is a sign of poorer nutritional choices made not only by expectant mothers but the population at large. Considering the high incidences of childhood obesity, it is thought that this is a realistic assessment of the situation.