> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.foodconsumer.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Myo-Inositol helps prevent gestational diabetes mellitus
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/myo-inositol_gestational_diabetes_mellitus_0511130953/
- Published: 2013-05-11T22:52:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:18:33.000Z
- Description: Among 220 pregnant women with a parent who had type 2 diabetes, 6% of those taking myo-inositol with folic acid developed gestational diabetes versus 15.3% on folic acid alone, a 65% reduction, with less fetal macrosomia, a Diabetes Care trial found.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Supplements, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

By Jimmy Downs

Saturday May 11, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study in Diabetes Care suggests that myo-Inositol supplementation may reduce the risk for gestational diabetes mellitus in pregnant women with a family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

R. D'Anna from University of Messina in Messina, Italy and colleagues conducted the small trial and found that of pregnant women with a family history of type 2 diabetes, those who took a myo-inositol supplement were 65 percent less likely to develop gestational diabetes mellitus, compared with those who did not.

The study further found that myo-inositol supplementation reduced the risk for fetal macrosomia. Macrosomia is a condition in which a fetus is abnormally large before birth.

This is a 2-year, prospective, randomized, open-label and placebo-controlled trial of pregnant outpatients who had at least one parent diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

For the trial, participants were either assigned to take 2 grams of myo-inosital plus 200 ug folic acid twice a day (110 study subjects) or 200 ug folic acid twice a day (110 controls), starting at the end of the first trimester.

The primary outcome of the trial was the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus in both groups and secondary outcome measures included "the incidence of fetal macrosomia (>4,000 g), gestational hypertension, preterm delivery, caesarean section, shoulder dystocia, neonatal hypoglycemia, and neonatal distress respiratory syndrome."

Incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus was 6% among pregnant women in the myo-inositol group, compared to 15.3% among women in the placebo group. The risk reduction was 65%.

Additionally, the risk for fetal macrosomia was statistically significantly reduced in the myo-inositol group while other secondary outcomes did not differ significantly.

The researchers concluded "myo-Inositol supplementation in pregnant women with a family history of type 2 diabetes may reduce GDM (gestational diabetes mellitus) incidence and the delivery of macrosomia fetuses."

Myo-inositol is a dietary supplement, which is readily available over the Internet.