November is Diabetes Awareness Month. Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin, a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life.

There are 23.6 million children and adults in the United States who have diabetes and 5.7 million people are unaware that they have the disease.

Diabetes can also complicate 5 to 10 percent of pregnancies in the United States. In about half of these pregnancies women have pre-existing diabetes, and the other half of these cases are due to gestational diabetes mellitus.

GDM is a disorder that usually...