Gestational Diabetes
Welcome to the Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Guideline and supporting Systematic Review
The focus of the 2016 Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) Guideline is on the treatment of women with gestational diabetes. The overall objective of the guideline is to provide evidence-based medical nutrition therapy recommendations for the management of GDM that assists in achieving and maintaining glycemia.
For the Systematic Review, which supports the guideline, the workgroup concentrated its efforts on five sub-topics:
- Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT)
- Prevention of Gestational Diabetes with MNT
- Calories
- Macronutrients
- Dietary Patterns (Glycemic Index, DASH)
- Distribution of Meals and Snacks
View the results of 12 evidence analysis questions by using the links on the left.
The Guideline includes recommendations based on the systematic review, plus evidence from other sources. Five major outcomes were considered. Examples of each include:
- Blood glucose control: fasting and post-prandial blood glucose, HbA1c
- Maternal weight gain: inappropriate weight gain (IOM standards)
- Fetal growth/birth weight
- Adverse fetal/neonatal outcomes: mortality, macrosomia, large- and small-for-gestational age, shoulder dystocia, jaundice, hypoglycemia, prematurity
- Adverse maternal outcomes: mortality, mode of birth (e.g., c-section, labor induction), hypertension/preeclampsia, insulin therapy.
The 2016 GDM guideline complements the 2008 GDM guideline. Download the GDM Guideline Comparison Table to see changes between the newly published and previous guideline. Since not all of the 2008 recommendations were updated/reviewed, the results of the previous systematic review remain an accessible resource.
Additionally, the GDM guideline focus group is women diagnosed with GDM. You may also be interested in these EAL topics:
- Obesity, Reproduction and Pregnancy
- Diabetes Type 1 and 2
- Diabetes (Type 2) Prevention
Please use the left navigation bar to view the GDM guideline and supporting evidence. Expand the sections below for a listing of individuals who contributed to the development of the GDM project. Expand the Project Resources section to learn how to purchase the 2016 Gestational Diabetes (GDM) Evidence-Based Nutrition Recommendations Pocket Card.
- Project Resources
The following resources were developed:
- Gestational Diabetes 2016 Evidence-Based Nutrition Recommendations Pocket Guide - This practical quick-referece pocket guide contains the GDM2016 evidence-based graded recommendations. Available in print and digital formatl.
- Gestational Diabetes Project Team and Disclosures (2016)
The following individuals contributed their valuable time and expertise to this project:
Workgroup Members
- Maria O. Duarte-Gardea, PhD, RDN, LD, Chair
Professor, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA
- Diana M. Gonzalez-Pacheco, DCN, RD
Assistant Professor, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- Rebecca P. Gregory, MS, RD, LDN, CDE
Dietitian, Nutrition Support, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
- Diane Marie Reader, RD, CDE
Manager, Diabetes Professional Education, International Diabetes Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Alyce M. Thomas, RDN
Nutrition Consultant, St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, Paterson, NJ, USA
- Susan Wang, MS, RD, CD, CDE
MFM Dietitian and Diabetes Educator, EvergreenHealth, Kirkland, WA, USA
Lead Analysts
- Ellen K. Bowser, MS, RDN, LDN, RN, FAND
Associate in Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Kyle L. Thompson, MS, RD, LDN, CNSC
Senior Lecturer in Nutrition/Director, Dietetic Internship, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA
Project Managers
- Lisa Moloney, MS, RD, LDN
Evidence-Based Practice Manager, Academy Staff, Chicago, IL USA
- Tami A. Piemonte, MS, RDN, LD/N (starting September 2015)
Consultant, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Evidence Analysts
- Sharon Foley, PhD, RD
Assistant Professor, Rush University, Chicago, IL, USA
- Julie A. Kennel, PhD, RD, LD
Clinical Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Renee Korczak, PhD, RD
Consultant, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Micah A. Lancman, MS, RD, CNSC
Clinical Dietitian, Naval Medical Center, San Diego, CA, USA
- Megan Majernik, MS, RD,LDN, CNSC
Neonatal Dietitian, Advocate Christ Medical Center, Oak Lawn, IL, USA
- Keiy C. Murofushi, MS, RD
Executive Director, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Hope Scott Paul, MS, RD, CDE
CDE Coach, Weight Watchers, Export, PA, USA
- Joan A. Pleuss, MS, CDE, CD, RD
Consultant, Milwaukee, WI, USA
- Valaree Williams, MS, RD, CSO, LDN, FAND
Registered Dietitian, University of Colorado Health, Aurora, CO, USA
Guideline Reviewers
- Cassandra Boisvert, MS, RDN
Health Research Interventionist, Kaiser Permanente, Portland, OR, USA
- Kathryn Boudeman, RDN, LDN, CDE
Clinical Dietitian II, Geisinge Health Systems, Danville, PA, USA
- Cara Dolin, MD
Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellow, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Andrea Domas, RDN, CDE
Senior Clinical Dietitian, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Andrea Dunn, RDN, LD, CDE
Advanced Practice Registered Dietitian, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Susan Harms, MPH, RDN, LD, CDE
Diabetes Educator, Lee Health, Fort Myers, FL, USA
- Callie Hicks, RDN, LD, CDE
Clinical Dietitian, InGenesis/Whiteman Aire Force Base, Whiteman AFB, MO, USA
- Janice James, MS, RDN, CDN, CDE
Senior Dietitian, New York Univesity Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Amna Kashif, MSc, RDN
Self-Employed Dietitian, Karachi, Pakistan
- Pamela Legowski, MS, RDN, LDN, CSP, CNSC, CDE
Certified Diabetes Educator/Speciality Dietitian, Orlando Health, Orlando, FL, USA
- Sandy Pichette, MS, RDN
Clinical Dietitian, Metrohealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Margaret Salvia, MS, RDN, CDE
Dietitian, Walden Behavioral Care and Meg Salvia Nutrition, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Jamie Stang, PhD, MPH, RDN
Associate Professor, University of Minnesota, School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Mylissa Trowbridge, MS, RDN
Senior Scientist, The Proctor & Gamble Company, Union, KY, USA
Financial Contributors
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Disclosures of Potential Conflicts of Interest: In the interest of full disclosure, the Academy has adopted the policy of revealing relationships workgroup members have with companies that sell products or services that are relevant to this topic. Workgroup members are required to disclose potential conflicts of interest by completing the Academy Conflict of Interest Form. It should not be assumed that these financial interests will have an adverse impact on the content, but they are noted here to fully inform readers.
- None of the workgroup members listed above disclosed potential conflicts.
