Gestational Diabetes Mellitus


Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) affects an estimated 3 to 9 percent of all pregnancies; in Ohio, this equates to an estimated 9,000 pregnancies each year. About half of all women diagnosed with GDM during pregnancy will ultimately develop Type 2 diabetes.

Who We Are

The Ohio Gestational Diabetes (GDM) Postpartum Care Learning Collaborative is a group of forward-thinking provider sites and nationally renowned clinical advisors working together to improve the care and long-term outcomes of women who have been diagnosed with or have a history of GDM.

Clinical Advisory Partners include nationally recognized subject matter experts:

  • Dr. Steven Gabbe, CEO Emeritus, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC)
  • Dr. Mark Landon, Chair and Professor of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at OSUWMC
  • Dr. Stephen Thung, Professor - Maternal Fetal Medicine, Clinical Chief of Obstetrics, Medical Director of Patient Flow Management, OSUWMC
  • Dr. Seuli Bose Brill, OSU Internal Medicine/ Pediatrics Grandview Yard Clinical Director, Maternal-Infant Dyad Practice Director, OSU Pragmatic Clinical Trials Network
  • Dr. Bethany Panchal, Assistant Program Director, The Ohio State University Family Medicine Residency Program, Director of Maternity and Women’s Health, Assistant Professor - Clinical at OSUWMC

With contributions by: Reena Oza-Frank, PhD, RD

Our Goal

Funded by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM), the GDM quality improvement (QI) project seeks to increase the number of women who attend postpartum appointments. Additionally, this QI project seeks to increase postpartum education and follow-up screenings for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) among women with a history of GDM, with a special emphasis on high-risk women enrolled in Medicaid. To accomplish this, we are partnering with prenatal and primary care providers. During this wave, the collaborative will:

  • Re-engage prenatal providers to implement best practices for improving diabetes screenings and postpartum patient care; 
  • Engage primary care providers to assess women for T2DM risk factors, including a history of GDM, and increase follow up screenings for T2DM;
  • Utilize a dyad model to provide care for mother and infant at the same visit; and
  • Provide support to clinical teams to implement diabetes screening, identification, education and treatment through the design and implementation of a quality improvement project.

Benefits to Project Partners

GDM Learning Collaborative project partners receive:

  • Access to nationally renowned clinical advisors
  • Free copies of patient and provider toolkits
  • One-on-one coaching
  • Quality improvement training
  • Rapid-cycle data feedback on site progress

For additional information or to download the toolkits and access further resources on GDM and the risk of T2DM, please visit our website at ohiogdm.com.