What Is Gestational Diabetes?
1. Epidemiology
Gestational diabetes is the most common metabolic complication that occurs during pregnancy. It occurs in about 14% or 200,000 pregnancies in the United States every year. Between the years 1994 and 2002, the incidence of gestational diabetes doubled. This increase can also be attributed to improved diagnosis and screening tools along with soaring rates of obesity due to sedentary lifestyles and excessive intake of calories. Gestational diabetes is more common among the last 3 months of pregnancy and affects about 1% under the age of 20 and 13% over the age of 44. The risk is higher among indigenous Australians, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. In the majority of cases, the gestational diabetes usually resolves once the baby is born.
