‘I had gestational diabetes during my pregnancy. Six years later, I’ve yet to receive any follow-up care’

Rates of type 2 diabetes are surging at twice the pace in younger women compared to their older counterparts, according to new analysis.

Charity Diabetes UK suggests this alarming trend could stem from "little or no follow-up care" for individuals who develop the condition during pregnancy.

Gestational diabetes (GD), characterised by insufficient insulin production leading to high blood sugar during pregnancy, typically resolves after childbirth.

However, those affected face a significantly elevated risk of subsequently developing type 2 diabetes.

Data compiled by Diabetes UK reveals a 47% increase in type 2 diabetes diagnoses among women under 40 between 2017/18 and 2023/24.

The charity has voiced concerns that inadequate postnatal care for GD, which impacts between 10 and 20% of pregnant women, is a significant contributor to these escalating rates.

Women with GD should be offered HbA1c blood tests to check for diabetes between six and 13 weeks after birth, and then once a year to measure average blood sugar levels.

The first annual gestational diabetes audit, which was published last year by NHS England, showed that only 57% of women had an annual HbA1c test after having GD.

It also showed that more than one in 10 (11%) of women with GD developed prediabetes within a year, while 15% developed type 2 diabetes within 10 years.

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Source: The Independent, 28 May 2026