Gestational diabetes: The risk goes on

U.S. health experts remind women with gestational diabetes they need to remain vigilant after a baby is born.

Experts at The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., point out women who have had gestational diabetes need to:

- Ensure all their doctors are informed of the condition.

- Realize their children are also at greater risk for obesity and diabetes and inform the children's pediatrician.

- Be regularly screened for diabetes and pre-diabetes.

"Many women think that if the follow-up test after the baby is born shows no signs of diabetes, they are in the clear, but that's not the case," Dr. Vivian Pinn says in a statement.

"What many of these moms don't know is that they have a 40 percent to 60 percent chance of developing diabetes as early as 5 to 10 years after their baby is born. These women need to know this information and they need to take steps to lower their risk for developing diabetes."

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BETHESDA, Md., May 10 (UPI)