Pregnant diabetics rises sharply in numbers, health concerns for both mothers-to-be and babies

The number of women with diabetes giving birth more than doubled recently, a finding that raises health concerns for both mothers-to-be and babies.

The alarming statistics coincide with an epidemic of type 2 diabetes that has increased dramatically as Americans pack on the pounds.
Michelle Cangemi, a Type 1 diabetic who is 7 months pregnant with her second child, poses for a portrait with her daughter Marissa, 3, in Lynbrook, N.Y.

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“We’re seeing more people who are overweight and obese, and that’s a key risk factor for type 2 diabetes,” says Jean Lawrence, lead author of the research. It is published in the May issue of Diabetes Care.

Lawrence and her colleagues at the Kaiser Permanente Department of Research & Evaluation in Pasadena, Calif., studied 175,249 women and teens who had given birth in 11 Southern California Kaiser hospitals between 1999 and 2005. They checked to see how many women were diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes before giving birth.

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The team discovered a rapid increase in the number of diabetic women giving birth during the seven-year period, from 245 women in 1999 to 537 in 2005. The researchers suspect that most of that increase can be attributed to women or teenage girls who had gained weight and developed type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.

Women or teens who have just developed type 2 diabetes might get pregnant before they know they have the disease, says Sue Kirkman, a vice president for clinical affairs at the American Diabetes Association.

Or sometimes women who already have a diagnosis of either type 1 or type 2 diabetes don’t keep blood sugar levels under tight control.

Women who become pregnant under such conditions have elevated blood sugar levels, which puts them and the developing fetus at risk, Lawrence says. Women who get pregnant with out-of-control diabetes are more likely to have a miscarriage or have preeclampsia, a dangerous form of high blood pressure that strikes in pregnancy.

Developing babies who are exposed to high blood sugar levels can have serious birth defects, including heart defects, Lawrence adds.

Overweight women or women with a family history of diabetes should get their blood sugar levels checked before trying to get pregnant, Kirkman says. Many women don’t realize they are pregnant at first and don’t get a chance to curb sugar levels early enough to prevent birth defects that occur in the first trimester, she says.
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“We’re seeing more people who are overweight and obese, and that’s a key risk factor for type 2 diabetes,” says Jean Lawrence, lead author of the research. It is published in the May issue of Diabetes Care.

Lawrence and her colleagues at the Kaiser Permanente Department of Research & Evaluation in Pasadena, Calif., studied 175,249 women and teens who had given birth in 11 Southern California Kaiser hospitals between 1999 and 2005. They checked to see how many women were diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes before giving birth.

Once the disease is diagnosed, women should work with a doctor to get sugar levels under control. Women who do so have a better chance of having an uneventful pregnancy and delivering a healthy baby, Lawrence says.

Pregnant diabetics rises sharply in numbers, health concerns for both mothers-to-be and babies

The number of women with diabetes giving birth more than doubled recently, a finding that raises health concerns for both mothers-to-be and babies. Editing by Nancy Lee

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