Gestational diabetes develops during pregnancy and poses a serious, lifelong risk for mother and child. Children born to women with gestational diabetes are at a higher risk of being overweight or obese and developing Type 2 diabetes in later life. Those children could pass that risk on to another generation.
So our challenge is clear; we must invest more in research to help us understand gestational diabetes, and break the cycle.
Vicky was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during her second pregnancy. Like many people, she’d heard of the condition but didn’t know a great deal about it. She was fit, healthy, and had no family history of Type 2 diabetes.
Vicky’s healthy lifestyle wasn’t a choice any more. It was either learn to manage and get good control of her gestational diabetes, or risk serious complications for her and her baby. That meant regular tests and checks at the hospital, finger prick blood glucose tests at home and strict management of her diet and lifestyle.
“ I was thinking, ‘How long have I had this for? Have I been eating the wrong things?’”
Vicky
It’s so important to act now to help prevent future generations from developing gestational diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. That’s what drives us every day – knowing that our work could make a big difference in years to come.
Please support our research and help to protect children.
It will bring us closer to finding ways of stopping gestational diabetes affecting the future health of mothers and children.
