Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that can develop in
some women during the second half of pregnancy. Doctors usually
check for the condition in pregnant women by doing a blood test,
because women often are not aware that they have gestational
diabetes. With treatment, most women who have gestational
diabetes will have healthy babies. Gestational diabetes is
treated by making certain eating changes, exercising, checking
blood sugar levels, and possibly taking insulin shots to keep
blood sugar levels within a target range. Gestational diabetes
usually goes away after the baby is born. But women who have
gestational diabetes are more likely to develop diabetes later
in life. If the woman's blood sugar level is not controlled,
gestational diabetes can cause problems, such as a baby that
grows too large or a baby who is born with low blood sugar.
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