By: Mebrahtu Abraha Gebremikael, Elke Konings and Christie Roberts, Management Sciences for Health (MSH)

Gestational diabetes may be a neglected contributor to the continuing high rates of maternal and neonatal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Without proper care, gestational diabetes—high blood sugar that is detected during pregnancy (and can include previously undetected pre-pregnancy diabetes)—increases the risk of eclampsia, miscarriage, obstructed labor, hemorrhage and fetal death, yet pregnant women in developing countries are rarely screened for the condition. Gestational diabetes is also a l