Moms take this seriously. This is the second study talking about the potential negative effects of obesity and diabetes during pregnancy. According to Northwestern University professionals, pregnant women who are overweight and have high blood sugar levels may raise the risk of health complications in their children.
A set of pregnant individuals were examined in the study. The investigators found that women with high BMI and blood sugar were apparently at greater risk for negative outcomes. This did not appear to be the case with women affected by one of the 2 conditions.
Principle investigator Boyd Metzger, M.D., a professor of medicine-endocrinology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, commented, “These are women who have not been on our radar because they don’t have gestational diabetes and aren’t obese, but our study shows if you are one step away from each of those, you carry some significant risks.”
Often, women experiencing both of the issues mentioned above may give birth to an over-sized baby. Owing to this, there is risk of an injury while the child is being delivered via the vagina, thereby increasing the likelihood of a C-section birth. Moreover, the kids once born may be prone to obesity and diabetes like their mothers.
The scientists have urged women to adhere to a fixed diet schedule during the 9 months of their conceptions. This analysis is part of the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) Study and constituted approximately 23,316 women spanning across 9 nations.
The findings are published in the journal, Diabetes Care.