Pharmacological Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the setting of poor glycemic control. The initial management for GDM includes intensive lifestyle modification, which often requires behavioral and nutritional changes to optimize glycemic control. Pharmacotherapy for GDM is initiated when glycemic targets are not met. The rapid-acting bolus analogues aspart and lispro achieve postprandial targets with less hypoglycemia compared to regular insulin, with similar fetal outcomes. The long-acting insulin analogues glargine and detemir appear safe with similar maternal/fetal outcomes compared to NPH. While insulin has been the mainstay therapy for women with GDM to improve glycemic control when lifestyle modifications are insufficient, certain oral antihyperglycemic drugs (OADs) can be considered as alternative treatment options for GDM but continue to be controversial for use as first-line treatment options compared to insulin by many professional bodies. Metformin has good efficacy and short-term safety data but it freely crosses the placenta and long-term safety data are lacking. Glyburide has good efficacy and short-term data but it also crosses the placenta and may be associated with increased rates of large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infants and neonatal hypoglycaemia when compared with insulin. This review aims to give an overview of the pharmacological treatment for women with GDM including some of the known safety profiles of current therapeutic options.