Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Council hosted the inaugural Diabetes in Pregnancy Summit in partnership with Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST) from Assam.

Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office, Government of India  said, “We are firmly focused on addressing non-communicable diseases as India faces a rising burden of type II diabetes and gestational diabetes.” 

Dr Singh unveiled the guidelines for ‘Diagnosis & Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (2021)’, prepared by Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group of India (DIPSI).

Prof (Dr) Seshiah V, Founder Patron, Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group of India (DIPSI) says, “Our mantra must be ‘Focus on the foetus for future’. Screening all pregnant women is just the first step. We must take care of her nutrition and control her glucose level and blood pressure too.”

“Diabetes in pregnancy is a major public health problem in India. The magnitude of gestational diabetes in India is such that we need multi-specialty professionals to address it who are adept in multitasking” says Dr Hema Divakar, CEO, Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST) and a member of IHW Council’s Apex Advisory Body. 

“Defeating diabetes is important for a fit India and Swasth Bharat. The massive campaign to raise awareness about diabetes in pregnancy forms a crucial part of our ‘Shapath 1000 days’ to help prioritise the health of women and children in every household,” says Kamal Narayan, CEO, Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Council. 

“It is notable that children born to mothers with diabetes pregnancy are 4 to 8 times prone to develop diabetes as compared to their siblings born of non-GDM pregnancies,” says Dr Alpesh Gandhi, President, Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI).