Gestational diabetes can cause complications for both mother and fetus, so many women are tested for the condition in their second trimester. During the test, women rapidly drink a sugar solution and blood samples are collected afterwards to detect blood glucose levels.

One of the challenges of pregnancy is the glucose tolerance test, where a sickeningly sweet sugary drink is used as part of a test for gestational diabetes. But researchers have good news, especially for pregnant candy lovers -- jelly beans appear to be an excellent substitute for the very sweet sugar drink.

The researchers found no significant differences between a standardized dose of 28 jellybeans providing 50 grams of simple sugar and the 50-gram glucose beverage currently used for the test. The researchers found the jellybean group had fewer side effects such as nausea, headache and dizziness and that women had a 3-to-1 preference for the jellybeans over the beverage.

But whereas the jelly beans work in the one-hour screening test for gestational diabetes, the authors do not advocate substituting jelly beans in the next stage of testing, the diagnostic 100-g glucose challenge test. This 3-hour test is performed where the screening test is positive, suggesting that the woman may in fact have gestational diabetes. The authors explain that the diagnostic test requires the sugar drink because the solid nature of jellybeans and the complex carbohydrates contained in them may change the absorption rate of sugar and affect the test results.

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 1999;181:1154-1157.