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Mother's Blood Sugar Affects Baby
(May 9, 2008) - Women don't have to be diabetic to have their blood sugar levels affect their unborn child. (Read about "Diabetes") New research shows that women with blood sugar levels in the higher range of normal - but not high enough to be considered diabetes - are more likely to give birth to babies at risk for many of the same problems seen in babies born to women with diabetes. (Read about "Healthy Pregnancy")
These problems included a greater likelihood for Caesarean delivery and an abnormally large body size at birth. Infants born to women with higher blood sugar levels were also at risk for shoulder dystocia, a condition occurring during birth, in which an infant's shoulder becomes lodged inside the mother's body, effectively halting the birth process. (Read about "Childbirth")
The researchers were unable to identify a precise level where an elevation in blood sugar increased the risk for any of the outcomes observed in the study. Rather, the chances for the outcomes were observed to increase gradually, corresponding with increases in the women's blood sugar levels.
The seven-year study involved more than 23,000 pregnant women at 15 centers in 9 countries.
To conduct the study, the researchers performed an oral glucose tolerance test on each woman, from the 24th through the 32nd week of pregnancy.
The researchers found that the higher the mother's blood sugar levels, the greater the chances that they would deliver by Caesarean section. In addition, the higher the mother's blood sugar levels, the more likely the infants were to have high insulin levels and low blood sugar levels at birth. Both conditions indicate exposure to high glucose levels in the womb. Moreover, the higher the mother's blood sugar levels, the more likely the women were to develop preeclampsia (Read about "Preeclampsia"), and the more likely their infants were to be born prematurely, and to experience shoulder dystocia. So, for example, women with the lowest fasting blood sugar levels gave birth to abnormally large babies roughly 5 percent of the time, while women with the highest blood sugar level gave birth to large babies 26 percent of the time.
Note: Statements and conclusions of study authors that are published here are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect this hospital's policy or position. This hospital makes no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.
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