Diabetes during and after pregnancy : screen more, monitor better

The original diagnostic criteria for gestational diabetes were introduced as a test to predict future permanent diabetes among women in whom relative hyperglycemia developed during pregnancy. Since then, the impact of gestational diabetes on the offspring, in terms of fetal and obstetric outcomes and obesity and diabetes subsequent to birth, has become a major focus. In this issue of CMAJ, Feig and colleagues report their findings of the probability of progression from gestational diabetes to permanent diabetes. Their report is timely, allowing renewal of attention to an important condition where we could do better.