Pregnancy should be a time of happiness for women, but women who have had a complicated pregnancy face various problems that can make their pregnancy even more stressful than before already is. One of the pregnancy complications that women go through is gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes can occur in women who are 24 and 28 weeks pregnant. It is a condition in which women develop high blood glucose levels. It affects 18% of pregnant women worldwide. (Healthline, 2014). Women who have already been diagnosed with diabetes think they are at high risk for gestational diabetes, but this is rarely the case. The cause of this complication is still unknown, but hormones may be the main factor determining its development. When a woman is pregnant she produces excessive amounts of hormones. Over time, hormones can interfere with the action of insulin, and without insulin working properly, blood glucose levels rise, causing gestational diabetes (healthline, 2014). Various ethnicities of women who develop gestational diabetes include Caucasians, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian and Pacific Islanders. Women at risk for developing gestational diabetes include women who are overweight, those with a BMI of 30 or more, high blood pressure, women over the age of 25, previous miscarriages or stillbirths, and a family history of diabetes. In addition to developing gestational diabetes, the woman may have problems that often lead to hypertension and preeclampsia during childbirth. Hypertension during pregnancy is when the woman will develop a blood pressure of 140/90. Hypertension is a dangerous factor as it can lead to other problems during pregnancy such as edema, proteinuria and effects on the fetus. Edema can occur when c...... middle of paper ......n level in the blood which is hyperbilirubinemia. The woman's baby may also be at risk of developing diabetes and obesity. If you have had gestational diabetes, you are at greater risk of developing it again during future pregnancies. Having gestational diabetes can be a significant problem during pregnancy, but that doesn't mean women everywhere can't have a successful pregnancy. Having this complication means that the woman would have to make changes that could affect her and her baby's safety. This means you should take your treatment plan seriously, following the prescribed diet and monitoring your glucose level, followed by your prescribed medications. After pregnancy gestational diabetes should disappear, the mother should continue to exercise and follow a healthy eating plan after pregnancy because she may still be at risk of diabetes mellitus two.