Women who have had gestational diabetes carry a substantially raised lifetime risk of type 2 diabetes. Guidelines advise a glucose test some weeks after delivery and then regular lifelong testing, typically every one to three years, alongside advice on weight, activity and breastfeeding.
Many women never have the postpartum test, because obstetric care ends and nobody owns the recall. Family medicine is often the only continuing contact. Coding the history and setting a recall turns a known risk into a scheduled check.
- Code a history of gestational diabetes on the record at the first postnatal contact.
- Arrange a postpartum glucose test and a recurring recall for lifelong testing.
- Discuss weight, physical activity and breastfeeding as risk-reducing steps.
- Advise early glucose testing in any future pregnancy.
- Check blood pressure and lipids too; cardiovascular risk is also raised.
Why it matters
Diabetes after gestational diabetes is predictable, and the missed recall is what lets it go undiagnosed.
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