Interventions to Improve Rate of Diabetes Testing Postpartum in Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus.
Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common medical complications of pregnancy. In the USA, four million women are screened annually for GDM in pregnancy in part to improve pregnancy outcomes but also because diagnosis predicts a high risk of future type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Therefore, among women with GDM, postpartum care should be focused on T2DM prevention. This review describes the current literature aimed to increase postpartum diabetes testing among women with GDM.



Data suggest that proactive patient contact via a health educator, a phone call, or even postal mail is associated with higher rates of postpartum diabetes testing. There may also be utility to changing the timing of postpartum diabetes testing. Despite the widespread knowledge regarding the importance of postpartum testing for women with GDM, testing rates remain low. Alternative testing strategies and large randomized trials addressing postpartum testing are warranted.
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 101 Dudley Street, Providence, RI, 02905, USA. mhamel@wihri.org.
Maureen S
MS
Hamel
Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, 101 Dudley Street, Providence, RI, 02905, USA.
Erika F
EF
Werner
D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016640:Diabetes, Gestational / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*
Barriers to postpartum diabetes screening; Gestational Diabetes Mellitus; Interventions to improve postpartum screening; Postpartum diabetes screening; Postpartum glucose testing