Blood Glucose monitoring in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Background: Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are more likely to develop pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, and to have the birth induced, suffer trauma to the perineum during birth, or to give birth by caesarean section.Good blood glucose control throughout pregnancy will reduce the risk of fetal macrosomia, trauma during birth (for her and her baby), induction of labor and/or caesarean section, neonatal hypoglycemia, and perinatal death. Monitoring of blood glucose levels is an important way to maintain control of sugar concentrations in the blood.However, it is not clear which is best method or frequency for monitoring blood glucose for limiting health complications for women and their babies.The purpose of this rapid literature review is to identify the most recent evidence and knowledge concerning blood glucose monitoring in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Methods: We undertook a Rapid Literature Review focusing on articles published from 2020 to 2022 thus offering the readers access to most up-to-date evidence concerning the topic. We searched the online databases of Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and BMJ from January 2020 till May 15, 2022. Inclusion criteria were studies of blood glucose monitoring for pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Results: Nine papers were included in the final review. Recent evidence on frequency of blood glucose monitoring, new glucose monitoring technologies, remote monitoring technologies and reminder systems in blood glucose monitoring were summarized. Main Contribution to Evidence-Based Practice: Recommendations for frequency of blood glucose monitoring should be tailored according to pregnant women’s blood glucose management plan. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) should be considered for pregnant women under some specific conditions. Remote monitoring technologies or reminder systems based on smartphones, computers and tablets could be considered to improve patient’s compliance toward blood glucose monitoring.