Overview
- A study published Monday in BMJ Medicine analysed NHS maternity records from 2018–2022 and found gestational diabetes rose from about 8% to more than 12% of births, a roughly 60% relative increase.
- The increase was concentrated among non-White and socioeconomically deprived groups, with diagnoses rising about 23% in Asian women and around 14% in women in the most deprived areas.
- Researchers linked a gestational diabetes diagnosis to worse pregnancy outcomes, including higher odds of preterm birth, emergency Caesarean section, and babies being large or small for gestational age.
- Authors and experts say the main drivers are rising maternal age, growing obesity rates and better data capture, and they report that pandemic-era changes to screening did not explain the upward trend.
- The study’s authors and health charities warn the surge strains antenatal services and call for strengthened clinic capacity, targeted prevention, and routine postpartum follow-up to reduce future type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk.