Is it worth treating gestational diabetes: if so, when and how?

Abstract

The primary aims of the treatment of gestational diabetes (GDM) are to prevent macrosomia and pregnancy complications. Many large studies and meta-analyses have demonstrated that, compared with usual care, the specific treatment of women with GDM seems to achieve these aims, including lower birthweight and lower rates of shoulder dystocia. Nutritional therapy is a cornerstone of GDM care and is generally recommended as a primary treatment. Medical treatment should be started after 1-2 weeks if normoglycaemia is not achieved with lifestyle changes. This review provides an overview of the current data on and practices for the treatment of GDM and summarises a presentation given at the 'Gestational diabetes: what's up?' symposium at the 2015 annual meeting of the EASD. It is accompanied by two other reviews on topics from this symposium (by Peter Damm and Colleagues, DOI: 10.1007/s00125-016-3985-5 , and by Cuilin Zhang and colleagues, DOI: 10.1007/s00125-016-3979-3 ) and an overview by the Session Chair, Kerstin Berntorp (DOI: 10.1007/s00125-016-3975-7 ).

Keywords: Gestational diabetes; Glibenglamide; Glycaemic control; Insulin; Large-for-gestational-age; Macrosomia; Medical treatment; Metformin; Nutritional therapy; Pregnancy complications; Review.