More Birth Defects Found In Babies Born of Diabetic Women
A study that looked at birth records of 13,000 births from ten different states found that birth defects were three to four times more likely to develop in women who had a form of diabetes termed “gestational” diabetes. The study provides detailed information on the types of deformities diabetic mothers are likely to incur with their infants which includes heart defects, missing kidneys and spine deformities.
The authors focused on the 13,000 births involving a major birth defect and compared them to approximately 5,000 randomly selected healthy births from the same study locations.
Mothers were asked if they had been diagnosed with diabetes before or during their pregnancy. The diabetes detected was either gestational or had gone undetected until they were screened for it routinely because they were pregnant and at risk.
This study re-iterates the importance of early detection of diabetes with blood sugar control prior to conception and adequate folic acid consumption before pregnancy. It also hails the importance of gestational diabetes screening and detection so that the pregnant woman can control her blood sugar as soon as possible thus reducing other complications that may occur with birth such as macrosomia. Gestational diabetics should also get follow-up blood sugar testing at their 6 week follow-up visit and yearly thereafter to pick up diabetes and get it controlled as soon as possible, particularly if more children are to be planned for.
