Academic Writing

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Moderating Stress and Lifestyle Factors to Decrease the Incidence of GDM 

Nearly ten percent of the United States’ population had diabetes in 2012, and it is estimated that the prevalence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) in pregnant women in the United States is as high as 9.2%. (American Diabetes Association, 2014). Diabetes mellitus, a metabolic disorder characterized by the body’s inability to regulate levels of glucose in the blood, falls into three subtypes: Type-1, Type-2, and Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.

Type-1 diabetes, colloquially known as “juvenile diabetes,” is characterized by the failure of the Beta cells of the human pancreas to produce insulin, a necessary peptide-hormone whose main function is to regulate the blood glucose levels in the body. Type-2 and Gestational Diabetes are characterized as a form of “insulin-resistance” where insulin is either released and the body’s tissues are unable to absorb the hormone, or the amount of insulin excreted is not substantial enough to return the body to homeostasis (American Diabetes Association, 2014b; Buchanan & Xiang, 2005).

Diabetes is currently regarded as the nation’s seventh-leading cause of death (American Diabetes Association, 2014b), and can present as a comorbidity with several other conditions, severely affecting quality of life. In pregnant women, diabetes complications are even more critical as they have the ability to affect both mother and fetus.

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