What are Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes?

Health and Wellness,Physical Health,Women's Health,Maternal Health

What are Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes?

11.13.2025 | 3 min read

Key Takeaways

Gestational diabetes can develop between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy in women who do not already have diabetes.
It's a condition caused by hormonal changes during pregnancy that lead to insulin resistance, combined with the body’s inability to produce enough insulin to meet the increased demands of pregnancy.
Those who experience symptoms during late pregnancy should discuss diabetes testing with their health care provider.
Your provider may recommend a gestational diabetes test, also known as a glucose screening test or glucose challenge test

Some women with gestational diabetes may not experience symptoms at all, making it important to test for the condition between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. However, other women with gestational diabetes will experience mild symptoms.

Identifying those symptoms is important, because if left unmanaged, they can lead to complications for both the mother and the baby. Here is everything you need to know.

What is gestational diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that develops exclusively during pregnancy and occurs when a woman’s blood sugar gets too high. It’s a condition that can develop – typically between the 24th and 28th weeks of pregnancy – in pregnant women who do not already have diabetes.

Every year, 5% to 9% of pregnancies in the United States are affected by gestational diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Managing gestational diabetes can help ensure a healthy pregnancy and can be accomplished through testing, attending prenatal appointments, controlling your blood sugar , staying physically active and eating a healthy diet.

Causes and risk factors of gestational diabetes

Gestational diabetes is caused by hormonal changes during pregnancy that lead to insulin resistance, combined with the body’s inability to produce enough insulin to meet the increased demands of pregnancy.

The insulin hormone in our bodies breaks down sugar from the food we eat and delivers it to our cells; it is tasked with keeping our blood at healthy, normal levels. But if insulin doesn’t function properly or our bodies don’t get enough of it, sugar accumulates in the blood and can lead to diabetes.

The body makes more hormones during pregnancy and experiences other changes as well, such as weight gain. These factors can alter the way cells in the body receive insulin, leading to insulin resistance in some cases.

Per the CDC, all women with gestational diabetes experience some level of insulin resistance during late pregnancy, while some women have insulin resistance even before becoming pregnant. Those who start pregnancy with an increased need for insulin and are more likely to develop gestational diabetes.

You could be at risk of developing gestational diabetes if you:

Have a personal history of gestational diabetes during previous pregnancies
Have a family history of Type 2 diabetes
Have heart disease or high blood pressure
Have polycystic ovary syndrome
Have prediabetes
Are obese or overweight before pregnancy
Become pregnant at age 35 or older

Gestational diabetes symptoms

Warning signs can be subtle for women with gestational diabetes. But the most prominent symptoms include:

Frequent urination
Excessive thirst
Tiredness
Nausea

If you experience these symptoms – especially during the late pregnancy – discuss diabetes testing with your health care provider during a prenatal appointment. If you're at higher risk for gestational diabetes, per the CDC, your provider may test you earlier.

How does a gestational diabetes test work?

A gestational diabetes test – also known as a glucose screening test or glucose challenge test – involves drinking a sugary solution before having your blood drawn to check glucose levels one hour later.

If your level is higher than the normal range, you may need to take another test after preparation and fasting. Known as a glucose tolerance test, this test measures your blood sugar before and after you drink a liquid that contains glucose,

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