Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is defined as a glucose intolerance of any degree with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. In high income countries, but also in middle and low income countries, because of the spreading of industrialized lifestyle, the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) has dramatically increased, and subsequently the incidence of GDM
In high-resource countries, progress has been made during the past fifty years regarding preconceptional care, screening and management of GDM. However, in low and middle-income countries, quality of antenatal care to detect and manage GDM, are often poorly available. As a consequence, the prenatal and neonatal burden of GDM may be paradoxically higher in these countries, although this point is not well documented
Much of the currently available knowledge on the consequences of maternal diabetes on the offspring has been provided by studies on type 1 diabetes (T1D), while the risks related to GDM, which is much more frequent, need to be clarified in order to improve and to adapt neonatal management. Moreover, extensive data suggest that the offspring of diabetic mothers is furthermore exposed to an increased risk of developing chronic, non-communicable diseases at adulthood