Gestational diabetes: real risks beyond the controversy

Crystal Ogle1

  • 1Midwives College of Utah, USA.

Gestational diabetes has been a controversial subject in the midwifery community for many years. While the diagnosis and disease can be debated, one statistic remains without controversy: women who meet the diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes after delivery. This article discusses the importance of postpartum follow-up, whether gestational diabetes screening was completed in pregnancy or not, and what a midwife can do to lower her clients' risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

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