Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a story
of invasion and bribery. Normally, in order to
provide an abundant supply of glucose for the
developing fetus, a pregnant woman’s body secretes
higher levels of hormones that purposefully
skew her blood sugar regulatory system. Her
cells become resistant to insulin. As a result, her
pancreas must work much harder to lower blood
sugar levels, which become higher than normal
after a meal. The mother’s body may be required
to make up to three times the normal amount
of insulin to deal with this glucose load (American
Diabetes Association [ADA], 2009). Most
women’s bodies can handle this change efficiently;
some cannot. When a woman who never had
diabetes before is unable to make or use enough
insulin to keep up with these increased demands,
she develops gestational diabetes. As a result,
both she and the offspring can be predisposed to
future type 2 diabetes, a condition of insulin resistance
and/or insulin deficiency.