“In the Philippines, 1.9 percent of pregnant women admitted in the last 5 years have Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) and 5.1 percent have Type 2 DM (diabetes mellitus),” says Dr. Mary Jane Gutierrez of the Philippine Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism.

“The risk factors include: obesity; genetic susceptibility especially [if you’re] of Southeast Asian descent; sedentary lifestyle; high fat diet; cigarette smoking, hypertension, history of polycystic ovaries, abnormal blood glucose levels, and impaired fasting glucose,” she adds.

If you’re pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or even just planning to get pregnant and one or two of the risk factors mentioned sound familiar to you (especially if you have a history of diabetes in your family), read on and find out how you can avoid GDM for you and your unborn baby’s sake.

(Photo by Ben and Rachel Apps via Flickr Creative Commons; photo used for illustrative purposes only)