Grant: Operating Grant

Women who develop gestational diabetes (high blood sugar during pregnancy) are treated with diet, exercise and/or medication. Managing blood sugar reduces risk for the mother and the baby. The glycemic index (GI) is a way of ranking the ability of food to raise blood sugar after eating. Recommending low GI foods may improve treatment of gestational diabetes, but has not been tested in this population. The main objective of this study is to see if using low GI food will result in better blood sugar 2 hours after meals. Blood sugar before breakfast, medication dose, inflammation and stress, complications of pregnancy, and maternal diabetes risk after pregnancy will be measured. Infant growth and mother's weight change post delivery will be measured. Information on participants' opinion of low GI will be collected. Women with gestational diabetes who volunteer will receive usual treatment, but will also be randomly assigned (like flipping a coin) to follow regular treatment or add low GI foods. Most study outcomes will be taken from participants' medical chart. In addition, diet records and questionnaires will be collected when the study starts, 4 weeks after the study starts, and 8 weeks and 1 year after delivery. An extra tube will be collected during regular blood work to measure inflammation and stress and if genetic makeup effects how the GI works. Results may help improve treatment of gestational diabetes. This study will collect information on perception of low GI food and how it affects blood sugar control.