Pregnancy

Blood sugar levels in pregnancy

The one place where the numbers really are different — and they are lower, not higher.

Reference range — pregnancy

5.1mmol/L fasting

Under the WHO 2013 criteria, gestational diabetes is identified from a fasting plasma glucose of 5.1–6.9 mmol/L (92–125 mg/dL), a one-hour value of 10.0 mmol/L (180 mg/dL) or above, or a two-hour value of 8.5–11.0 mmol/L (153–199 mg/dL). One value at or beyond any of the three is enough to meet the criterion.

Lower than the adult bands, not higher. Do not read a pregnancy result against the general adult table.

SOURCE·WHO 2013, hyperglycaemia first detected in pregnancy·Geneva, 2013·REVIEWED JUL 2026

This page is reference information, not medical advice.

Nothing here can diagnose you, and nothing here is a treatment plan. Blood glucose results are interpreted by a doctor alongside your history, your symptoms and a repeat test — a single number on a screen is not a diagnosis. If any reading concerns you, or if you feel unwell, see a doctor rather than a website.

Clinical note

Everywhere else on this site the thresholds are the same regardless of age. Pregnancy is the genuine exception, and it moves in the opposite direction to what the age charts suggest.

Under the WHO 2013 criteria, gestational diabetes is diagnosed from a fasting plasma glucose of 5.1 mmol/L — 92 mg/dL — which outside pregnancy would be an unremarkable result well inside the normal range. The two-hour threshold, 8.5 mmol/L (153 mg/dL), is likewise far below the 200 mg/dL used for non-pregnant adults. One value at or beyond any of the three limits is enough.

World Health Organization 2013 criteria for gestational diabetes mellitus — hyperglycaemia first detected in pregnancy. One value at or beyond these limits is enough.
Measurement	mmol/L	mg/dL
Fasting	5.1 – 6.9	92 – 125
1 hour after a 75 g glucose load	10.0 or above	180 or above
2 hours after a 75 g glucose load	8.5 – 11.0	153 – 199

A fasting value of 7.0 mmol/L (126 mg/dL) or above, or a 2-hour value of 11.1 mmol/L (200 mg/dL) or above, is classified by WHO as diabetes in pregnancy rather than gestational diabetes — a different category with different follow-up. Pregnancy testing is arranged and interpreted by your obstetric team.

Indian obstetric practice also uses a single-step non-fasting test in some settings, and different institutions follow different protocols. Which test you are given, when in the pregnancy, and how the result is acted on are decisions for your obstetric team.

Do not use the general adult table on this page to interpret a result taken during pregnancy. The thresholds are different, the follow-up is different, and pregnancy also changes red-cell turnover, which is one reason HbA1c is not used as the primary test. Take every result to the doctor managing your pregnancy.

How a published range becomes the line on your report

A specimen is drawn under a stated condition — fasting means at least eight hours with nothing but water; the two-hour value means two hours into a standardised 75 g glucose drink, not two hours after dinner.
The laboratory reports a concentration: mg/dL in India, mmol/L in the UK, Australia and most of Europe. The measurement is identical; only the unit differs.
That concentration is read against a published cut-point — a figure a named body wrote down in a dated document, not a figure derived from the population being tested.
Two bodies publish, and they agree everywhere except one number. This site prints both rather than picking the one that makes a tidier table.
Confirmation, then interpretation, both belong to a clinician. A value on either side of a cut-point is a reason to see a doctor, never a conclusion.

mmol/L = mg/dL ÷ 18.016
ADA fasting cut-points   99 · 100-125 · 126
WHO fasting cut-points  109 · 110-125 · 126

Full methodology →

Comparison panel

For comparison — the non-pregnant adult criteria

Shown only so the size of the difference is visible. Do not read a pregnancy result against this table.

Test results used to identify normal glucose, prediabetes and diabetes in non-pregnant adults, as published by the American Diabetes Association and restated by the US National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. The mmol/L column is converted from the published mg/dL figures at 18.016 mg/dL per mmol/L.
Result	Published value	Same value in mmol/L
Fasting plasma glucose — at least 8 hours with no food
Normal	99 mg/dL or below	5.5 mmol/L or below
Prediabetes	100 to 125 mg/dL	5.6 – 6.9 mmol/L
In the diabetes range	126 mg/dL or above	7.0 mmol/L or above
2 hours into a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test
Normal	139 mg/dL or below	7.7 mmol/L or below
Prediabetes	140 to 199 mg/dL	7.8 – 11.0 mmol/L
In the diabetes range	200 mg/dL or above	11.1 mmol/L or above
HbA1c
Normal	below 5.7%	—
Prediabetes	5.7% to 6.4%	—
In the diabetes range	6.5% or above	—
Random (any time of day)
In the diabetes range	200 mg/dL or above with the classic symptoms of high blood glucose	11.1 mmol/L or above

A result in the diabetes range is not a diagnosis. Published criteria require confirmation — normally a repeat of the same test on a separate day, unless someone has unmistakable symptoms with a clearly raised glucose. Your doctor makes that call, not a chart.

SOURCE·ADA Standards of Care 2025 · WHO 2013 (pregnancy)·two different criteria, shown side by side·REVIEWED JUL 2026

Source: American Diabetes Association, Standards of Care in Diabetes — Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes. Diabetes Care 2025;48(Suppl. 1):S27–S49. Link
Source: World Health Organization. Diagnostic criteria and classification of hyperglycaemia first detected in pregnancy. Geneva: WHO, 2013. Link

PeakForm is a training and accountability programme. It is not a treatment for diabetes or prediabetes, it is not a substitute for your doctor's advice, and nothing on this site should be acted on before speaking to one.

Other age bands

Children and teenagerssame thresholds Adults 18 to 30same thresholds Adults 30 to 45same thresholds Adults 45 to 60same thresholds Adults 60 and abovesame thresholds Pregnancydifferent thresholds

Why the age-banded charts you have seen elsewhere are not published by anyone →

Questions this report anticipates

What is a normal fasting blood sugar level?

On the American Diabetes Association criteria, 99 mg/dL (5.5 mmol/L) or below. 100 to 125 mg/dL is the prediabetes range and 126 mg/dL or above is in the diabetes range. WHO uses the same 126 mg/dL diabetes threshold but places the lower edge of impaired fasting glucose at 110 mg/dL rather than 100.

What is a normal sugar level after eating?

The published thresholds — 140 and 200 mg/dL at two hours — are written for a standardised 75 g oral glucose tolerance test, not for an ordinary meal. A post-prandial reading after home food is not the same measurement and varies with what was eaten. Doctors do use post-meal readings, interpreted alongside everything else about you.

Does the normal blood sugar range change with age?

No. The diagnostic thresholds published by WHO and the American Diabetes Association are the same for every adult age. Popular "sugar level by age" charts are not published by any health authority. Pregnancy is the one genuine exception, and its thresholds are lower, not higher.

Is one high reading enough to diagnose diabetes?

No. The published criteria require confirmation — normally a repeat of the same test on a separate day — unless someone has unmistakable symptoms alongside a clearly raised glucose. A single number is a reason to see a doctor, not a diagnosis.

What is the normal blood sugar level for pregnancy?

The same as for any other non-pregnant adult: fasting 99 mg/dL or below, two-hour glucose tolerance test 139 mg/dL or below, and HbA1c below 5.7% on the ADA criteria. There is no separate published range for this age group.

Pregnancy thresholds from the WHO 2013 guideline on hyperglycaemia first detected in pregnancy. General information only — NOT medical advice, and never a diagnosis. Only a doctor can interpret your results and diagnose or treat diabetes. If a reading concerns you, see a doctor rather than a website. Every threshold, equation and glycemic index value used on this site is listed with its publication on the data & method page, and every publication is listed with its issuing body and its date in the source register.

SOURCE·Published reference ranges + GI tables·REVIEWED JUL 2026

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