KOLKATA: It is believed to be one of the least known and rarely detected routes through which diabetes has been spreading in the country. Gestational diabetes — a form of the disease that afflicts pregnant women and subsequently the child in the womb — has been rising alarmingly in West Bengal, says a study conducted by Diabetes Awareness and You (DAY), an NGO working on the prevention of the disease.

According to the study report, 11.69% pregnant women in the state suffer from gestational diabetes, which is almost double the number of cases treated. Experts suspect this could be one of the major reasons behind the spiraling number of adolescent diabetics in West Bengal. The report was launched in the city by DAY.

A woman is taken to be suffering from gestational diabetes when her blood sugar count exceeds 120mg per litre, two hours after taking 75gm of glucose. The treatment protocol of the disease is different from usual diabetes.

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