Weight Changes During and After Pregnancy in Women With Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with short-term and long-term complications for infants and mothers. The management of GDM during pregnancy focuses on reducing risks to the infant associated with hyperglycemia. The postpartum management of GDM focuses on reducing maternal risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2DM). A diagnosis of GDM identifies up to 31% of parous women who will eventually develop T2DM and approximately 50% of women diagnosed with GDM will develop T2DM in the first 5 years postpartum. The perceived risk of developing short-term and/or long-term complications of GDM may influence women's likelihood of engaging in diet modification, the mainstay of treatment of GDM, both during and after pregnancy. If sustained after delivery, diet modifications introduced as treatment for GDM could affect maternal weight changes during and after pregnancy, which could in turn affect T2DM risk. It is unknown if and how women with GDM differ in their perceived risk of developing T2DM, dietary choices, or weight gain (and retention) during versus after pregnancy. Therefore, the project proposed in this application seeks to (1) characterize the perceived risk of developing T2DM among women with GDM during and after pregnancy, (2) characterize dietary choices of women with GDM during and after pregnancy, and (3) characterize weight changes of women with GDM during and after pregnancy as compared to women without GDM.