Genetics of getting diabetes when pregnant

Some women get diabetes when they are pregnant. This is gestational diabetes mellitus, or GDM. Diabetes affects how your cells use sugar. It causes high blood sugar. With GDM, this can affect your health. And the health of your baby. Most women do not notice any symptoms. Your health care team will check your blood sugar as part of your care. Women can control GDM by eating healthy foods. And exercising. Some women may need to take medicine. These can keep you and your baby healthy. And prevent a difficult birth. After you give birth, your blood sugar often returns to normal. But, it does raise your risk for type 2 diabetes. Regular checkups and a healthy lifestyle can help. Genes contain the instructions for making each protein. We are all born with some changes in our genes. They are what makes us unique. But they may also raise our risk for a disease. We do not know why some women get GDM. Researchers think gene changes may give us clues. Scientists at Vanderbilt University Medical Center will use BioVU to study GDM. They will look for women who are pregnant. Then they will check who did and did not have GDM. They will look for gene changes linked to GDM. They will also look for other things that may raise your risk for GDM. Their results could help us find out who is at risk for GDM. They could also help us better treat or prevent GDM. The goal is to help all women have a healthy pregnancy.