; Whereas diabetes has been linked to cardiovascular illnesses; Whereas many African-American women with diabetes are unaware that having diabetes increases their risk for CVD; Whereas women with diabetes are 40 percent more likely to develop heart disease; Whereas at least 68 percent of people with diabetes age 65 and older die of some form of heart disease and 16 percent die from stroke; Whereas gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a disease characterized by high blood sugar (glucose) levels during pregnancy, and it raises a mother’s risk of getting type 2 diabetes and heart disease later in life; Whereas African-American women who develop GDM during pregnancy face a 52 percent increased risk of developing diabetes in the future compared to White women who develop GDM; and Whereas cardiovascular complications are the leading cause of pregnancy-related death in Black women: Now, therefore, be it