American Diabetes Association's Fourth International Workshop-Conference on Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: summary and discussion. Therapeutic interventions.

Abstract

This review summarizes Session IV: Therapeutic Interventions of the Fourth International Gestational Diabetes Workshop and suggests intervention protocols based on the presentations at this meeting and the literature. The opinions of the six presenters and their interpretation of the review of the literature in their specific areas, the synthesis of the 30 abstracts presented at this symposium on therapeutic interventions, and my interpretations of the literature to date on these strategies are discussed. Also, the suggested intervention protocols are outlined as to medical nutritional therapy, weight gain, insulin prescriptions, and the utility of an exercise program for gestational diabetes mellitus. The goals of an intervention protocol for the gestational diabetic women are to achieve and maintain normoglycemia and thus to minimize the risk of maternal or fetal morbidity.