Understanding the Effects of Gestational Diabetes on Mother and Baby
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common pregnancy complication characterized by impaired glucose metabolism and increased insulin resistance. GDM is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and an increased long-term risk of metabolic and cardiovascular disease for both mother and offspring. This prospective observational cohort study aims to establish a longitudinal pregnancy and birth cohort of women diagnosed with GDM. Pregnant women with a positive 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) between gestational weeks 24 and 28 will be recruited after diagnosis and followed through late pregnancy, delivery, and early postpartum. Participants will undergo two study visits during pregnancy, sample collection at delivery, and one postpartum visit 8-12 weeks after birth. Clinical data, physical measurements, questionnaire-based information, and biological samples will be collected from mothers and infants to enable comprehensive phenotyping of GDM pregnancies. Data and biosamples from this cohort will be used for descriptive and hypothesis-driven analyses and may be compared with data from an existing longitudinal cohort of healthy pregnancies to support interpretation of GDM-related changes.
• ongoing pregnancy prior to the 32nd gestational week and a positive GDM screening