Review article

It is well known that diabetes mellitus in pregnancy is associated with increased risks to the mother and fetus. Perinatal mortality is significantly increased and classical associations include pre-eclampsia, polyhydramnios, diabetic instability, fetal malformations, large babies, neonatal respiratory distress and hypoglycemia. Good antenatal care theref ore demands the diagnosis of diabetes in pregnant women [18]. The concept of screening for disease was first practised in obstetrics and remains the basis of good antenatal care [15]. Screening tests in pregnancy can broadly be classified into two types. First, those undertaken for the detection of previously undiagnosed or asymptomatic disease of the mother. The second are those tests advocated for assessment of fetoplacental function. In complicated pregnancies the most widely used test is measurement of urinary excretion of estriol [10]. Because unexplained perinatal deaths occur in apparently normal pregnancies, routine antenatal screening by such a test has been widely advocated [9,17]. In this paper we shall discuss some of the controversies of diabetes mellitus in pregnancy, particularly gestational diabetes, and provide an analysis of the results of a large program of routine testing for gestational diabetes. Further, we shall introduce Curriculum vitae