The concern of developing gestational diabetes (GD) can be overwhelming for expecting moms. Although GD is not common enough to warrant serious concern from the general population, like other types of diabetes, the number of women diagnosed is on the rise. While there are some known risk factors, such as being overweight before becoming pregnant, there are still countless unknowns about the condition—some of them stranger than others.

What Is Gestational Diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is a diabetic condition that develops during pregnancy. Although GD can be diagnosed before 20 weeks gestation, it is most commonly diagnosed after this time and is considered a required screening in many places. Gestational diabetes usually only requires close monitoring of your diet, but some more severe cases may demand regular administration of insulin.

Gestational diabetes can prove dangerous to mothers, as the presence of GD could mean having a child with a higher-than-typical birthweight. As a result, this condition increases the risk of complications and interventions. Children can also be born with some sensitivity to glucose or insulin and may require close monitoring in the hours (or days) immediately following birth.

Although these are quite mild responses to having gestational diabetes, the condition can also cause stillbirth, miscarriage, and high blood pressure, which can then lead to pre-eclampsia. As such, researchers were eager to find a possible way to lower the risk of GD development.

Temperature and Diabetes

Keeping cool during pregnancy has long been advised. Many mothers are discouraged from entering a sauna or hot tub to prevent overheating, and some doctors and midwives go so far as to discourage even a bath with hot water. While these sources of danger have long been known and acknowledged, it was not until recently that researchers found a positive correlation between high temperatures and increased GD risk.

Even when adjusted for other factors, one study found that each 10-degree temperature hike resulted in as much as a 9% increase in the risk of developing GD. Although these findings do not mean any woman whose pregnancy falls primarily during the hotter months will definitively develop GD, it does stipulate that more precautions should be taken, such as getting exercise every day, carefully monitoring of sugar and carbohydrate intake, and giving the body plenty of time to rest.

Gestational diabetes increases the risk of incurring Type 2 diabetes down the road—both for the mom-to-be and the children—so taking all necessary precautions to avoid it is imperative to have a healthy, worry-free pregnancy.