Diabetes during pregnancy
Diabetes affecting pregnancy can be pre-existing (that is, type 1 or type 2 diabetes) or may arise because of the pregnancy (gestational diabetes). It can have short-term and long-term implications for both mothers and their babies and the type and severity of complications may differ according to type of diabetes experienced in pregnancy (AIHW 2019). The Australian National Diabetes Strategy 2021-2030, includes a goal to reduce the impact of pre-existing and gestational diabetes in pregnancy (Department of Health and Aged Care 2025).
Diabetes during pregnancy can lead to adverse outcomes for mothers and babies, such as pre-eclampsia, high birthweight, stillbirth, and congenital anomaly. Long term implications are also possible including a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes for women who had gestational diabetes, and a higher risk of metabolic issues for babies born to women who had diabetes during pregnancy. These risks can be reduced through management of blood glucose levels (Chivese et al. 2022; Nankervis et al. 2018).
The Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society (ADIPS) guideline for pre-existing diabetes and pregnancy emphasises a multidisciplinary and woman-centred approach, and includes measures such as screening for complications, monitoring and medication management of blood glucose levels and education and support around lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise (Rudland et al. 2020). Management of gestational diabetes requires a similar approach, however, medication may not be required if lifestyle approaches keep blood glucose levels in an optimal range (Nankervis et al. 2018).
Note that data collection methods for diabetes vary across states and territories.
Since 2018, the proportion of women in Australia with gestational diabetes has increased (from 13% in 2018 to 17% in 2023).
Figure 1 presents trend data on the diabetes status of women who gave birth, by selected maternal characteristics, between 2018 and 2023. Select the ‘Current data’ button to view 2023 data.
Figure 1: Proportion of women who gave birth, by diabetes status and selected topic
Bar chart shows diabetes status of women by selected topics and a line graph shows topic trends between 2018 and 2023.
In 2023, the highest proportions of gestational diabetes were among:
- mothers aged 35-39 or 40 or more (21% and 26%, respectively)
- women who were born in China (27%), the Philippines (30%), Vietnam (30%), India (31%), Pakistan (33%) and Nepal (37%)
- women with a parity of 3 or 4 or more (19% and 21%, respectively).
The proportion of mothers living with pre-existing diabetes ranged from 0.9% to 3.7% across the states and territories in 2023. The highest proportions of pre-existing diabetes were among First Nations mothers (2.6%) and women with a parity of 4 or more (2.3%).
For more information on:
- diabetes during pregnancy by state and territory, see National Perinatal Data Collection annual update data table 2.48
- diabetes during pregnancy by selected maternal characteristics, see National Perinatal Data Collection annual update data visualisations table 3.5
- diabetes during pregnancy for First Nations mothers, see Maternal medical conditions in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers and babies.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2019) Diabetes in pregnancy 2014–2015, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 17 June 2022.
Chivese T, Hoegfeldt CA, Werfalli M, Yuen L, Sun H, Karuranga S, Li N, Gupta A, Immanuel J, Divakar H, Power CE, Levitt NS, Yang X and Simmons D (2022) ‘IDF Diabetes Atlas: The prevalence of pre-existing diabetes in pregnancy – A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published during 2010–2020’, Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 183:109049, doi:10.1016/j.diabres.2021.109049.
Department of Health and Aged Care (2025) Australian National Diabetes Strategy 2021-2030, Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Government, accessed 29 May 2025.
Nankervis A, Price S and Conn J (2018) ‘Gestational diabetes mellitus: A pragmatic approach to diagnosis and management’, Australian Journal of General Practice, 47(7):445–449, doi:10.31128/AJGP-01-18-4479.
Rudland VL, Price SAL, Hughes R, Barrett HL, Lagstrom J, Porter C, Britten FL, Glastras S, Fulcher I, Wein P, Simmins D, McIntyre HD and Callaway L (2020) ‘ADIPS 2020 guidelines for pre-existing diabetes and pregnancy’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 60(6):18-52, doi:10.1111/ajo.13265.