Moms Blood Sugar Poses Threat to Newborns

In one of the largest study of all times, it has been found out that newborns of mothers with higher blood sugar are at greater risks. The findings, which were released on Friday, will lead to more pregnant women being diagnosed with diabetes and given medications to lower their blood sugar level.

Lead investigator Dr. Boyd Metzger of Northwestern University, informed that the study was extensively conducted on 23,000 pregnant women in 9 countries, and a positive link was established between high blood sugar level and the rate of big babies and first-time Caesarean sections.

Not only this, the babies of such mothers can also be born with high blood sugar level, which can eventually lead to health problems like obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure later in life.

More C section deliveries in case of large babies is necessary, so as to avoid any damage to the shoulders and other parts. Vaginal delivery can pose health threats to mothers and babies.

The findings were reported by the researchers on Friday at the American Diabetes Association's annual scientific meeting.

The shocking part of the research was that even after considering family history of obesity and diabetes; they found out that blood sugar level independently played a detrimental role to the baby’s size and health.

It has been long known that gestational diabetes is unhealthy for the baby and the mother. The present study, the largest till date, highlights the fact that the levels of blood sugar now considered normal, pose risks.

"We have established without any question that levels of blood sugar less elevated than typical diabetes carry risks," Metzger said. 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. New guidelines may come next year after international experts meet to analyze the findings,” he said.

In the study, it was found out that large babies were born 5% of the time to women with

Low blood sugar, as compared to 27% large babies to women with high blood sugar level.

The $19 million study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the diabetes association, and was conducted in the United States, Canada, Barbados, Britain, Israel, Thailand, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

“Gestational diabetes affects about 4 percent of pregnant women, about 135,000 a year in the United States. That number may climb by tens of thousands of women a year if guidelines are revised,” Metzger said.

"The question is, what is the best blood sugar to have? Probably there is no threshold. The lower, the better," said Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at New York's Montefiore Medical Center.

Dr. John Kitzmiller, a maternal and fetal health expert at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, Calif., said that the new findings will stir a debate as to how to treat the women with slightly rising blood sugar levels during pregnancy. He also said that more evidence may be needed to show that treatment works.

Women with gestational diabetes are treated by lowering their carbohydrate intake and including high fiber food in their diets. They sometimes also need injected insulin at a cost of $80 to $120 a month and need customary doctor checkups.

Glyburide, a generic glucose-lowering pill, is sometimes also used by doctors, but no sophisticated study has been conducted so far to test the relevance and safety of the drug.