British doctors have found that pregnant women who are obese and diabetic can pass the consequences of their health condition to their babies. In a study, researchers stated that obese mothers with diabetes often have overly large babies during the early stages of pregnancy.
According to the new study, that rapid fetal growth can occur as early as the sixth month of gestation, UPI reported. The latest study was based on more than 4,000 first-time pregnant mothers, with 4 percent of the subjects diagnosed with pregnancy-related diabetes during or after their pregnancy's 28th week.
"Our study shows that the babies of obese women were more likely to be excessively large around the abdomen even as early as 20 weeks [into pregnancy]," said senior researcher Dr. Gordon Smith, who is from the University of Cambridge, as quoted in UPI's report.
Fast-Growing Babies
The study found that women who are both obese and diabetic have the fastest-growing babies. By week 28, the fetuses are five times more likely to be excessively large, as opposed to babies with moms who do not have diabetes or obesity.
Smith's team found via ultrasound scan that obese women's unborn babies are 63 percent more likely to exhibit abnormally large abdominal growth by the 20th week of gestation, as opposed to babies who have thinner mothers. Pregnant women with diabetes are twice as likely to have babies with excessive growth by the 28th week of pregnancy, as opposed to women who have no diabetes, the news outlet wrote.
Complications
Dr. Raul Artal, professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynecology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, said having excessively large babies have serious consequences. With big babies, moms can have a more complicated childbirth that requires cesarean-section delivery.
Large babies are also susceptible to dangerous low levels of blood sugar and breathing difficulties after they are born. Smith's team added that babies with heavy weight at birth can have long-term health problems. They may be prone to obesity and diabetes later on in life.
Medical Advice
Artal, the lead author of guidelines for exercise during pregnancy from the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, or ACOG, advises pregnant women to be physically active for at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week. Exercising and a healthy diet can help avoid or treat pregnancy-related diabetes.
Limiting weight gain is vital to pregnant women. Artal said the "best time to lose weight is before or between pregnancies," UPI reported.
"This involves not eating excessive quantities of simple carbohydrates, controlling portion sizes, eating plentiful fresh fruit and vegetables, and remaining active during the pregnancy," Smith said, as reported by UPI.
