What is gestational diabetes mellitus?
Pregnancy has typically been viewed as a statement of health, as it should be. In the midst of morning sickness, heartburn, exhaustion, and the excitement of pregnancy, women might be oblivious to other changes in their bodies that lead to developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Gestational diabetes is defined as the development of glucose intolerance with the onset or first recognition during pregnancy. This is not to be confused with previously diagnosed diabetes. Gestational diabetes is diagnosed as the result of routine glucose tolerance screening on an otherwise healthy population of women. In women who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin are unable to produce enough insulin to meet the body’s needs. The beta cell defects in gestational diabetes result from the same causes as hyperglycemia in general, and includes autoimmune disease, genetic, and insulin resistance causes. Gestational diabetes is now viewed as diabetes i
