One in six live births (21 million per year) is affected by hyperglycaemia during pregnancy (1). Hyperglycaemia in pregnancy can mean either diabetes that existed before pregnancy, diabetes first diagnosed during pregnancy, or gestational diabetes – a milder form of elevated glucose (blood sugar) levels that appears during pregnancy, though the distinction between the types is blurred due to the high burden of undiagnosed pre-existing diabetes. The management of hyperglycaemia, or elevated glucose levels, in pregnancy differs significantly from its management outside of pregnancy. Hyperglycaemia during pregnancy has effects on the fetus and birth process. Pregnancy-related complications of hyperglycaemia, including GDM, include pre-eclampsia/hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, stillbirth, macrosomia, neonatal hypoglycaemia and seizures, and birth injury. Women with hyperglycaemia in pregnancy are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes (1) and long-term complications of diabetes can include cardiovascular disease, neuropathy, nephropathy and retinopathy (2).
The World Health Organization (WHO) 2013 guideline on Diagnostic criteria and classification of hyperglycaemia first detected in pregnancy focused on the diagnostic criteria and classification of hyperglycaemia in pregnancy, but did not provide recommendations on diabetes management. The 2016 antenatal care guidelines identified this as a priority research area, particularly in lower-middle-income countries. Given that the disease burden of diabetes is global, with a majority of cases in low- and middle-income countries, guidelines applicable to these settings are needed. With a view towards promoting the best-known clinical practices in labour and childbirth, and improving maternal and newborn outcomes worldwide, WHO will review the evidence for recommendations related to monitoring and management of hyperglycaemia in pregnancy. The development of this guideline has been prioritized as part of the work to address non-communicable diseases in pregnancy.
A Guideline Development Group (GDG) meeting will be held 12–15 May 2025 to review the evidence base on these recommendations. In keeping with the requirements of the WHO Compliance, Risk Management and Ethics Office, we are posting online short biographies of the GDG members. The listed candidates have also submitted a declaration of interest form stating any conflict of interests. WHO has applied its internal processes to ensure that the performance of the above tasks by members of this group will be transparent and without any significant conflict of interests (academic, financial or other) that could affect the credibility of the guideline.
