A 31-year-old G3P2 presents for a routine prenatal visit at 24 weeks’ gestation. Her physical examination including fetal assessment is unremarkable. We recommend testing for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). What clinical challenges do we face while handling such cases ? 1. What is GDM? GDM refers to any form of glucose intolerance with the onset of pregnancy or first recognized during pregnancy, and complicates approximately 5 to 15 % of all pregnancies.
It may include some women who have undiagnosed pregestational diabetes 2. Should everyone be screened for GDM? If so, at what gestational age should they be screened? Patients with GDM are typically asymptomatic. There is a small cohort of pregnant women in whom routine screening for GDM is not cost-effective. These are women under age 25 who have normal body mass index (BMI <23 kg/m2), no first-degree relatives with…
