Background <p>Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common pregnancy complication associated with adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes. Increasing attention has focused on hyperglycaemia identified early in pregnancy; however, evidence regarding the impact of timing of diagnosis on pregnancy outcomes remains limited in Indian populations.</p> Objective <p>To evaluate maternal characteristics, treatment patterns, and pregnancy outcomes in women with GDM and compare outcomes between early- and late-diagnosed GDM.</p> Methods <p>This retrospective multicentre observational study included 172 women diagnosed with GDM and managed at three tertiary care centres. Women were classified as early GDM (&lt;20 weeks gestation) or late GDM (≥20 weeks gestation). Maternal characteristics, HbA1c levels, treatment modalities, mode of delivery, gestational age at delivery, and neonatal birth weight were analysed.</p> Results <p>The cohort comprised a metabolically high-risk population with a mean maternal age of 34.7 ± 4.8 years and mean BMI of 31.1 ± 3.6 kg/m². Early GDM accounted for 47.1% of cases. Women diagnosed before 20 weeks had numerically higher HbA1c levels than those diagnosed later (6.24 ± 0.66% vs 5.93 ± 0.58%), although this difference was not statistically significant (p=0.11). Caesarean section rates were high in both groups (82.7% vs 71.4%, p=0.29). No significant differences were observed in neonatal birth weight or gestational age at delivery.</p> Conclusion <p>No statistically significant differences were observed between early- and late diagnosed GDM groups with respect to maternal or neonatal outcomes assessed in this study. The absence of significant differences should be interpreted cautiously because of the retrospective design, unmeasured confounding, incomplete neonatal outcome data, and possible limited statistical power. Larger prospective studies are required to determine whether timing of GDM diagnosis independently influences pregnancy outcomes.</p>