EBB 370 - Updated Evidence on Diagnosing Gestational Diabetes

Evidence Based Birth®

Rebecca Dekker

Pregnancy, Health & Fitness, Childbirth, Parenting, Birth, Medicine, Kids & Family, Doula, Obstetrician, Midwife

4.6 • 978 Ratings

🗓️ 3 September 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Gestational diabetes (GDM) is one of the most common health issues during pregnancy, and diagnosing it is more complicated than you might think. In this episode, Dr. Dekker is joined by EBB Research Team member Dr. Morgan Richardson Cayama to cover the newly updated evidence on how GDM is diagnosed. They walk through the physiology behind GDM, current testing methods, and why there’s still international disagreement about how to screen. Together, they examine the results of large randomized trials comparing the one-step and two-step screening methods, the research on early screening with hemoglobin A1C, and the evidence on alternatives to the Glucola drink, including candy and home blood sugar monitoring. They also review the risks of skipping screening entirely, and how weight bias and other systemic factors can impact diagnosis and care.

(02:28) What is Gestational Diabetes and Why Is It So Common?

(06:30) Risk Factors, Size Bias, and the Role of Race and Ethnicity

(10:40) Why We Screen and the Origins of the Controversy

(13:17) Comparing the One-Step and Two-Step Methods

(19:55) What New Research Says About Health Outcomes

(23:45) Should We Screen for GDM Earlier in Pregnancy?

(28:11) Can Hemoglobin A1C Replace the Glucola Drink?

(32:44) Alternatives: Candy, Food, and Home Monitoring

(40:04) What International Guidelines Recommend

(43:07) Declining GDM Testing: What the Evidence Shows

(47:47) Is Sperm Linked to Gestational Diabetes Risk?

(51:29) Takeaways and the Future of GDM Diagnosis

Resources

Download the free two-page handout in English or Spanish [NEED LINK]

Explore Real Food for Gestational Diabetes by Lily Nichols: realfoodforgd.com

For a full list of resources, visit ebbirth.com/inducinggdm

For more information about Evidence Based Birth® and a crash course on evidence based care, visit www.ebbirth.com. Follow us on Instagram and YouTube! Ready to learn more? Grab an EBB Podcast Listening Guide or read Dr. Dekker's book, "Babies Are Not Pizzas: They're Born, Not Delivered!" If you want to get involved at EBB, join our Professional membership (scholarship options available) and get on the wait list for our EBB Instructor program. Find an EBB Instructor here, and click here to learn more about the EBB Childbirth Class.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi everyone. On today's podcast, we're going to talk about the updated evidence on diagnosing
0:05.8	gestational diabetes.
0:11.3	Welcome to the evidence-based birth podcast. My name is Rebecca Decker, and I'm a nurse with my PhD
0:16.9	and the founder of evidence-based birth. Join me each week as we work together to get evidence-based information into the hands of
0:24.8	families and professionals around the world.
0:27.8	As a reminder, this information is not medical advice.
0:31.4	See eBbirth.com slash disclaimer for more details.
0:37.1	Hi, everyone. Welcome to today's episode of the evidence-based birth podcast. For this special
0:43.0	episode all about gestational diabetes, I have a co-host today. My co-host name is Dr. Morgan
0:48.7	Richardson Kayama. And I am so excited to talk with her today about the updated evidence on diagnosing gestational
0:55.7	diabetes. You will be able to access all the information from this podcast, including
1:00.9	scientific references, our updated full-length signature article, and a free two-page handout by
1:07.4	visiting eBbirth.com slash diagnosing GDM.
1:12.0	As a quick content note before we get started in today's episode, we will be talking about
1:16.8	serious health complications for birthing people and babies, and we will also be mentioning
1:21.5	sizism and fat phobia.
1:24.1	So Dr. Morgan has her PhD and master's in public health and is a member of the EBB research team.
1:32.1	Morgan, I'm so happy to have you back with us.
1:34.3	Yeah, thanks so much for having me.
1:35.8	I am really looking forward to diving into a lot of the research that we found on this topic.
1:40.5	And I know there's a lot of interest and curiosity, and this impacts a lot of people.
1:43.8	So I'm excited to join.
	...

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