Diabetes & Metabolism
Gestational Diabetes
Diabetes first recognised in pregnancy. It is common, it is manageable, and treating it well protects both mother and baby — but it also marks a woman who deserves lifelong follow-up.
Symptoms that bring people in
- Usually no symptoms at all — it is found on screening
- Excessive thirst or tiredness in some women
- A larger-than-expected baby on ultrasound
Having one of these does not mean you have this condition — several overlap with far more common problems. It means the question is worth asking properly.
Gestational diabetes is glucose intolerance appearing during pregnancy, driven by the placental hormones that naturally resist insulin. India has among the highest rates in the world, and because it usually causes no symptoms, screening rather than suspicion finds it.
Screening and diagnosis
All pregnant women should be screened, typically with an oral glucose tolerance test between 24 and 28 weeks, and earlier where risk factors are present — a raised BMI, a family history of diabetes, PCOS, a previous large baby or previous gestational diabetes. The thresholds used in pregnancy are lower than outside it, and correctly so.
Management
Most women achieve target sugars with a structured diet and regular walking; a meal plan that splits the day's carbohydrate into smaller, well-spaced portions usually does more than restriction. Where diet is insufficient, insulin is the treatment of choice in pregnancy and is safe for the baby — it does not cross the placenta. Metformin is used in selected situations. Home glucose monitoring, fasting and after meals, guides every adjustment. Care is shared closely with the obstetric team, with growth scans to watch fetal size.
Why untreated gestational diabetes matters
Left unmanaged it increases the chance of an excessively large baby and difficult delivery, of neonatal hypoglycaemia and jaundice, and of pre-eclampsia.
After delivery
This is the part most often neglected. Blood sugar usually returns to normal after birth, but a glucose tolerance test at six to twelve weeks postpartum is essential, and yearly screening thereafter — roughly half of these women develop type 2 diabetes within a decade. Breastfeeding, returning to a healthy weight and staying active measurably reduce that risk, and gestational diabetes should be treated as an early warning worth acting on.
This page is general information. Doses and treatment choices in endocrinology are individual, and are decided at a consultation with your reports in front of us. Please do not start, stop or change a medicine based on this page.
Common questions
Before your first visit
How do I book an appointment?
Use the appointment form on this website and the clinic will telephone you to confirm a time, usually within one working day. For a same-day or urgent request, please ring the number in the page header instead — a phone call is always faster than a form.
Hospital OPDs at CMRI and Narayana Memorial are booked through the hospital's own reception. For district chambers, it is worth calling the chamber number listed on its page before travelling.
Which chamber should I choose?
Whichever is easiest for you to reach and return to. Endocrine conditions need review over months and years rather than a single visit, so the chamber you can get to comfortably every few months is nearly always the better choice than the one that seems most impressive.
That said: if your problem needs same-day tests, an ultrasound, or admission, a hospital OPD is the better setting. The Chambers page lists every location with its days and timings, and the weekly timetable shows them all side by side.
Do chamber timings ever change?
Yes — and this is worth taking seriously if you are travelling any distance. Several district visits run on a monthly rotation, such as the 1st and 3rd Saturday, and a hospital OPD can be rescheduled at short notice. Timings shown on this website are kept up to date and any known cancellation appears on the chamber's page, but please telephone ahead before a long journey.
What should I bring to the first consultation?
Bring everything you have, even if it seems old or irrelevant:
- all previous prescriptions, including from other doctors
- every blood report and scan you hold, in date order if possible
- the actual strips or boxes of the medicines you take, or a written list with doses
- your home blood sugar or blood pressure diary, if you keep one
- for a child, the growth chart and immunisation record
Old reports are genuinely useful. A five-year-old thyroid result or an earlier scan often changes the plan, because what matters in endocrinology is frequently the trend rather than today's number.
Consultation
Request an appointment
Tell us which chamber suits you and when. We will confirm your slot by phone.