About the GILD study

Gestational diabetes is a condition where high blood sugar levels develop during pregnancy and resolve after birth. It affects approximately 8% of pregnant women.  

Current clinical practice involves ‘tight’ blood sugar monitoring, which means testing blood sugars every hour, with blood sugar levels maintained between 4-7 mmol/L. However, some patients find this approach intrusive and challenging during labour, and that it impacts on their birthing experience. The GILD study aims to find out if a ‘more relaxed’ approach can be taken during labour, where blood sugar levels are tested every 2-4 hours, and kept between 4-10mmol/L.  

Individuals who take part will be randomly assigned their treatment group and received either 'tight' blood sugar monitoring or the 'more relaxed' approach. They will be followed up until 6 weeks after birth and also have the opportunity to share their views on the monitoring approaches at optional discussions at about 12 weeks after birth. 

Who is sponsoring and funding this study? 

The GILD study is being sponsored by the University of Nottingham and coordinated by the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit (NCTU). 

The funding for the study is provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Health Technology Assessment Programme (Ref: NIHR130175).

GILD NIHR Research Award