I am currently living in the Middle East where the system is very different to the one I have grown accustomed to in the UK, for the first time in my life I am dealing with a private healthcare service & I find the whole thing very confusing.

In the UK you are only screened for GD if you have the following risk factors;

-body mass index (BMI) is 30 or more – you can use the healthy weight calculator to work out your BMI

-you have previously had a baby who weighed 4.5kg (10lbs) or more at birth – the medical term for a birth weight of more than 4kg (8.8lbs) is macrosomic

-you had gestational diabetes in a previous pregnancy
you have a family history of diabetes – one of your parents or siblings has diabetes

-your family origins are South Asian (specifically India, Pakistan or Bangladesh), black Caribbean or Middle Eastern (specifically Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon or Egypt)

I have none of the above yet I have been asked to perform the test on Sunday. My experience of the healthcare system here is that they are overzealous and/or perform unnecessary tests, ultrasounds etc as a money making exercise.

Should I have the test? FYI the hospital is over an hours drive away in the middle of the dessert, I will have to go alone.