By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) – Diet, exercise and weight control counseling in early pregnancy can lower the risk of developing diabetes before giving birth, according to a new study from Finland. “Gestational diabetes and maternal obesity are both independently associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes,” and many women who have gestational diabetes develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years, said lead author Dr. Saila B. Koivusalo of Helsinki University Hospital and Katiloopisto Maternity Hospital. Between 2 and 18 percent of pregnancies involve gestational diabetes, Koivusalo told Reuters Health by email.