When the babies were born, the researchers measured their weight, length, head circumference and body circumference. They compared gestational size among the babies, and compared the gestational size of these babies to babies born to mothers in a control group of 1,415 women who did not have diabetes.
Babies in the first group did not differ much from babies born to mothers who did not have diabetes: 5.4 percent of the babies had macrosomia. In the second group, 37.8 percent of the babies had macrosomia and in the third group, 54.2 percent of the babies had macrosomia.
In conclusion, the researchers write: "The results of our study suggest that it is not sufficient to achieve near-normal (blood sugar) values in diabetic pregnancies to avoid alteration in fetal growth, but that only overall daily (blood sugar) values of less than or equal to 95 mg/dl reached as early as the second trimester and maintained throughout the third trimester are associated with normal body size and proportions of the infants." (Diabetes Care 23:1494- 98, 2000)
Copyright American Diabetes Association, Feb 2001
Publication date: 2001-02-01 © 2000, YellowBrix, Inc.
