Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels are too high. When you are pregnant, too much glucose is not good for your baby.

About seven out of every 100 pregnant women in the United States get gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is diabetes that happens for the first time when a woman is pregnant. It goes away after you have your baby, but it does increase your risk for having diabetes later.

If you already have diabetes before you get pregnant, you need to monitor and control your blood sugar levels during pregnancy.

Most women get a test to check for diabetes during their second trimester of pregnancy. Women at higher risk may get a test earlier.

Either type of diabetes during pregnancy raises the risk of problems for the baby and the mother. To help lower the risks, you should follow your meal plan, exercise, test your blood sugar, and, if needed, take your medicine.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases