Diabetes During Pregnancy Increases Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes

Women who develop diabetes during pregnancy--this is also called "gestational diabetes"--have a 1 in four chance of developing type 2 diabetes within 15 years. There were several factors that increased the risk. They include: needing to use insulin to manage the gestational diabetes, being Asian, having a baby with a high birth weight and having higher than normal results on the 1-hour blood glucose test.

If you've had gestational diabetes, it's extremely important to have routine screening for diabetes in the years after your pregnancy. According to the study, the risk of developing diabetes became higher each year for 15 years after the pregnancy.

Source:
Diabetes Care, April 2007