You probably know someone who’s had gestational diabetes mellitus, or may have been diagnosed yourself. By any measure, it’s not rare. It’s estimated that about 200,000 cases of gestational diabetes—a condition that’s marked by glucose intolerance in pregnancy—occur every year. In fact, gestational diabetes may be present in up to 9.2% of all pregnancies. But the fact that gestational diabetes is pretty common doesn’t make it any easier to live with—especially when you’re dealing with all the other challenges of pregnancy. Gestational diabetes occurs when hormones from the placenta block the action of the insulin that the mother’s body produces. Insulin’s job is to help the body transform glucose in the bloodstream into useable energy. When the body can’t make or use insulin properly, glucose builds up in the blood, causing higher blood glucose levels that can be dangerous for a mother with diabetes and her baby. Women with gestational diabetes mellitus […]
