Gestational diabetes is one of the most common pregnancy complications, affecting two to seven percent of all expectant mothers. Like other forms of diabetes, it is caused by the body's inability to process the sugars in food. Instead of being converted to energy, the sugars stay in the mother's blood. Symptoms are hard to distinguish from typical symptoms of pregnancy, but include increased thirst, hunger and fatigue, and having to go to the bathroom more often.

Gestational diabetes happens because pregnancy hormones make it hard for the body to use insulin. Most women's bodies make more insulin as a result, but those whose bodies cannot keep up with the increased demand contract gestational diabetes. In most cases, the diabetes will disappear once you give birth; scientists suspect that in the small number of cases where it does not, the mother already had undiagnosed diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes: Who is at Risk?

You are considered higher-risk for gestational diabetes if:

• You have had it during previous pregnancies.
• You have a family history of diabetes.
• You are obese (body mass index of 30 or higher).
• You have had a high-birth-weight baby before.
• You have high blood pressure.
• You have had a baby with a birth defect or an unexplained stillbirth.

Diagnosing Gestational Diabetes

Most doctors and midwives routinely test expectant mothers' blood sugar to screen for gestational diabetes between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. (If you are at high risk for gestational diabetes, or if a routine test shows high levels of sugar in your urine, you may be tested earlier.) If the first test comes out positive, you should expect to take a second, three-hour glucose tolerance test.

If the diagnosis is confirmed, you should sit down with your health care team and talk about how you can manage your gestational diabetes. Like all diabetics, women diagnosed with the condition need to keep careful track of their blood sugar. In many cases, gestational diabetes can be controlled by modifying your diet and activity level. About 15 percent of mothers-to-be will also have to give themselves insulin shots.

Gestational Diabetes Dangers

If left uncontrolled, gestational diabetes poses a high risk of pregnancy complications, especially macrosomia, or high birth weight, which is caused by the baby absorbing all the sugar in your blood that you cannot process. If your baby puts on too much weight, he or she may not fit down the birth canal, which could cause perineal tearing, blood loss and pelvic damage to you and shoulder dystocia -- getting a shoulder stuck behind the pubic bone during birth -- for your child. This is a very serious problem that can cause birth injuries by damaging bones and nerves or causing asphyxia -- cutting off oxygen to the baby's brain. You may need a cesarean section or an episiotomy.

Other Complications of Gestational Diabetes

Other complications of gestational diabetes can include:

• Postnatal hypoglycemia and other conditions in the infant. In response to the extra sugar the baby was getting from you, he or she may have elevated insulin levels at birth. If a blood test at birth shows hypoglycemia, it is important to feed your baby right away. Other conditions to watch for include jaundice, hypocalcemia (low blood calcium) and polycythemia (high red blood cell count).
• Birth defects, especially heart defects. If your diabetes is severe, your doctors may ask you to keep track of your baby's movements and perform regular fetal heart monitoring or ultrasounds.
• Preeclampsia, or elevated blood pressure and protein in the urine, in the mother. The restricted blood flow caused by preeclampsia can sometimes cut off oxygen and nutrition to the baby.
• An increased risk of Type 2 diabetes later in life for both mother and child.

If you think you and your infant may have been victims of medical malpractice or medical negligence leading to a birth injury or birth defect, you may have a legal claim. Click on “Find an Attorney” at the top of the page to contact a qualified birth injury lawyer, who can help you decide whether you should file a lawsuit.