The risk of having a baby with a birth defect is four times higher for diabetic mothers to-be, according to a newly published British study. The risk applies to birth defects like spina bifida and congenital heart problems. According to lead researcher Dr Ruth Bell from Newcastle University, "many of these anomalies happen in the first four to six weeks". Diabetic women are urged to have their blood sugar levels under control before trying to get pregnant.
The study was published in the journal Diabetologia, and analyzed over 400,000 pregnancies from the North East of England. Besides the mentioned birth defects, children born to diabetic mothers are also much more likely to be born with a large birth weight. This fact, which was already well known, can lead to complications during childbirth and beyond.
The data collected by the research team from Newcastle University involved pregnancies from the years 1996 through 2008, out of which 1,677 pregnancies were carried by diabetic mothers. The figures speak for themselves for mothers without preexisting diabetes, birth defects occurred in 19 out of 1,000 pregnancies. For moms with diabetes type 1 and 2, that risk rose to 72 per 1,000 pregnancies! Note that the same risks do not apply to women with gestational diabetes, which occurs during the pregnancy. The early stages of pregnancy really seem to hold the key here because that is when an embryo structurally develops.
Dr Ruth Bell, the lead researcher in this study, said that women who have diabetes have to discuss their blood sugar levels with their doctors in advance, and warned against trying to conceive with poor blood sugar control. She also noted: "It is a problem when the pregnancy is not intended or when people are not aware they need to talk to their doctors before pregnancy. If you are diabetic and hoping to start trying to conceive soon, work on a strategy to be as healthy as possible before getting pregnant, and during your pregnancy, with your healthcare team."
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