CHICAGO — The higher a pregnant woman's level of blood sugar, the greater the risk to her newborn, whether the mother has diabetes or not, the largest study on the problem suggests.
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The findings released Friday may lead to more women being diagnosed with diabetes during pregnancy and given stricter diet advice or medication to lower blood sugar.
The findings
•The higher the mother's blood sugar, the more risk for the newborns, the study found.
•The study showed that newborns were more likely to have low blood sugar levels and high insulin levels if their mothers' blood sugar levels were higher.
•Other measures of gestational diabetes in the pregnant women, such as glucose tolerance tests, also correlated with infant risk, the study found.
•According to the study, there is a surprisingly strong relationship between the blood sugar levels of the women and the rate of big babies and first-time Caesarean sections, said lead investigator Dr. Boyd Metzger of Northwestern University.
The study
•The research involved more than 23,000 pregnant women in nine countries — the United States, Canada, Barbados, Britain, Israel, Thailand, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.
•Researchers took into account obesity, age and family history of diabetes and still found the mother's blood sugar independently affected the infant's size and health.
•The $19 million study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association.
•The findings were reported Friday at the diabetes association's annual scientific meeting.
What's next
•Currently, the goal for a pregnant woman's fasting blood sugar is below 95 milligrams per deciliter during the final few months of pregnancy. A new target of 90 may be more reasonable, Metzger said.
•Researchers are not making recommendations for now, he said.
