A proposal for detecting and managing gestational diabetes by coordinating existing services.

A significant improvement in the quality of births by low-income women can be achieved by implementing a low-cost screening procedure and by coordinating private and public sector services that these women may already be receiving. This proposal outlines a screening program for gestational diabetes, coupled with multidisciplinary team management of this disorder through cooperative efforts of private sector medical practitioners and the public sector nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The investment in this proposal is catalytic: the long-term intent is to persuade those in the medical community in the targeted geographic area to adopt the screening procedure and coordination with the WIC Program as a standard part of their prenatal care. If this proposed program is successful, it could be replicated in other parts of the country.