Consistent with the findings of Entringer et al. cortisol levels were highest in the early morning hours for women in the third trimester of pregnancy and constitute an important component of the “awakening response.”33 Cortisol is well known to contribute to insulin resistance, and in pregnant women, administration of exogenous corticosteroids to accelerate fetal lung maturity is known to result in a sharp, temporary decline in insulin sensitivity postinjection. This evidence concerns the gene INS and Insulin resistance.