BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Four percent of women develop high blood sugar levels during pregnancy, a condition known as gestational diabetes.

Because infants born to mothers with gestational diabetes tend to be larger and fatter than average at birth, they also have an increased likelihood of certain birth complications, of being obese as children, and of developing type 2 diabetes as adults.

Though there is debate as to whether treatment of mild gestational diabetes improves the health of babies, a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that in more than 90 percent of cases, treating this condition with dietary changes alone was enough to reduce the frequency of certain birth complications.

Women who were given treatment kept track of their blood sugar daily and were advised by a dietician as to which foods would help them keep their insulin levels in check.

While treatment did not affect the incidence of low blood sugar in the newborns or the number of birth traumas, mothers who received treatment were half has likely to give birth to larger or heavier than average babies.

In addition, mothers in the treatment group were less likely to have high blood pressure, gained less weight during pregnancy and were less likely to deliver pre-term.