Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy in gestational diabetic women.

Gestational diabetes is often compounded by hypertensive disease of pregnancy. Women diagnosed as suffering from gestational diabetes were subdivided into two groups: those found to be suffering from some form of hypertension during their pregnancy [n=78]; and those who did not develop hypertension [n=345]. The maternal characteristics and perinatal outcome of the two groups were statistically correlated. The results show that obesity was the only statistically significant correlate, and that obstetric outcome more often required planned delivery by induction of labour or caesarean section. The infant was more likely to be delivered prematurely. While the perinatal morbidity did not show any significant differences, this was only because of the more active intervention policy in these women.