One in six live births (21 million per year) is affected by hyperglycaemia during pregnancy. Hyperglycaemia in pregnancy includes diabetes that existed before pregnancy, diabetes first diagnosed during pregnancy, or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a form of elevated glucose (blood sugar) levels that appears during pregnancy. Distinguishing between these conditions is often challenging, particularly in settings with a high prevalence of undiagnosed pre-existing diabetes.
Hyperglycaemia during pregnancy is associated with increased risks of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes , including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, stillbirth, macrosomia, neonatal hypoglycaemia, birth injury, and other long-term complications. Early identification and accurate classification of hyperglycaemia during pregnancy are therefore critical to enable appropriate care and reduce the risk of adverse outcomes.
Given the substantial and growing global burden of diabetes, with most cases occurring in low- and middle-income countries, guidance that is applicable across diverse resource settings is needed. With a view to improving maternal and newborn outcomes worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO) published its first recommendations on care for women with diabetes during pregnancy in November 2025.
The updated recommendations set to come out in 2026 will include updates on the 2013 recommendations on the diagnostic criteria and classification of hyperglycaemia first detected during pregnancy . New evidence has emerged regarding approaches to screening, diagnosis, and classification, highlighting the need to revisit this guidance. Revising these recommendations has been prioritized as part of WHO’s broader efforts to address non-communicable diseases in pregnancy and improve maternal and newborn health outcomes worldwide.
A Guideline Development Group (GDG) meeting will be held 20–24 October 2026 to review the evidence base on the screening and diagnosis of hyperglycaemia in pregnancy. In keeping with the requirements of the WHO Compliance, Risk Management and Ethics Office, we are posting online short biographies of the GDG members . The listed candidates have also submitted a declaration of interest form stating any conflict of interests. WHO has applied its internal processes to ensure that the performance of the above tasks by members of this group will be transparent and without any significant conflict of interests (academic, financial or other) that could affect the credibility of the guideline.
