The objective was to determine the relationship between the mother's nutritional status and the newborn's gestational characteristics. A sample of 149 women with gestational diabetes was controlled in the High Risk Obstetric Unit of the Medical Specialties Public Health Center before delivery in the maternity ward of the Hospital Clnico Herminda Martin de Chillan, Chile in 2010. Data were obtained from the perinatal clinical history and the newborn's chart. The variables recorded for the mother were nutritional status, type of delivery, number of pregnancies, and metabolic control. Data for the newborn were weight, length, head circumference, and gestational diagnosis. These data were analyzed by ANOVA, Chi-square test, and Multiple Correspondence. Women with a normal nutritional status were multiparous with natural childbirth; the newborn had an adequate gestational age and normal head circumference. On the other hand, maternal obesity was related to a Cesarean; the newborn was large for gestational age and had a larger head circumference. Overweight women were primiparous and the newborn was small for gestational age with a smaller head circumference (p<0,01). It was concluded that obesity in women with gestational diabetes explains variables such as type of delivery, number of gestations, and the newborn's diagnosis.