More than 6% of American women developed gestational diabetes in 2008

WASHINGTON — More than 6% of women who gave birth in hospitals in the United States in 2008 had diabetes or developed gestational diabetes during pregnancy, according to a new analysis by the federal government's Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The agency found that more than a quarter million women, or 6.4%, who gave birth had the conditions that can produce risks for the mother and the baby, including risk of preterm birth and miscarriage and risk of the baby having low blood sugar, jaundice or overly large body size. Gestational diabetes usually disappears after delivery.

The analysis was based on data in the report “Hospitalizations Related to Diabetes in Pregnancy, 2008,” which uses data from the 2008 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a database of hospital inpatient stays in all short-term, nonfederal hospitals.