Get screened for gestational diabetes at 24 weeks of gestation or later — don’t mind drinking the sugary solution

6. Get screened for gestational diabetes at 24 weeks of gestation or later — don’t mind drinking the sugary solution

Cost: Several tens to over a hundred yuan. You must fast beforehand, and several blood draws will take up half a morning.

In plain terms: Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that appears only during pregnancy. At 24 weeks or later, spending half a morning drinking a sugary solution and having several blood tests can detect it. Skipping this test raises the risks of having a macrosomic baby, difficult labor, cesarean delivery, preeclampsia, and neonatal hypoglycemia.

Benefit: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening for gestational diabetes at 24 weeks or later for asymptomatic pregnant women — those who feel no symptoms at all. Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that appears only during pregnancy. This single screening test should be done at 24 weeks or later. The Task Force concluded that current evidence does not show any clear benefits or harms from screening before 24 weeks (Grade I). Untreated gestational diabetes increases the risks of macrosomia, difficult labor, cesarean delivery, preeclampsia, and neonatal hypoglycemia.

Evidence grade: A

Notes: Most women diagnosed with gestational diabetes can control their blood sugar through diet and exercise alone; only a minority need insulin injections. Don’t skip this test out of fear of being told you need insulin. After giving birth, you must get another blood sugar test — women who’ve had gestational diabetes face a significantly higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on.

Sources: US Preventive Services Task Force (2021). Gestational Diabetes: Screening. <https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/gestational-diabetes-screening>