Pregnant women with diabetes tend to have overly large babies, which isn’t good for either party. An Israeli team has now shown that the problem can be avoided if mothers strictly control their blood sugar levels during pregnancy.

Infants of diabetic mothers have previously been reported to differ in weight and body composition from those of non-diabetic mothers. This might be one reason why shoulder problems during birth arise more often among such babies, the investigators point out in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Given that diabetes control has improved in recent years, Dr. Eliezer Shalev from Ha’Emek Medical Center in Afula, Israel, and colleagues investigated whether body measurements differed between infants of 67 non-diabetic mothers and those of 67 diabetic mothers who maintained strict control of their blood glucose levels.

Average birth weights were essentially the same in the two groups, the team found, and the number of infants who were very light or very heavy did not differ either.

Moreover, among the 11 newborns in each group who weighed 4000 grams or more, there were no significant differences in body measurements.

There were no cases of shoulder complications during delivery in either group, the researchers note.

The diabetic group did undergo twice as many cesarean deliveries as the non-diabetic group, but the researchers say this difference likely resulted from their department’s policy regarding delivery mode for diabetic and non-diabetic women.

In fact, Shalev told Reuters Health, women with diabetes “have the same chance for vaginal delivery as those who are not diabetic.”

In conclusion, he urged diabetic women to follow a proper diet during pregnancy and, like other pregnant women, to take folic acid daily.

SOURCE: Obstetrics & Gynecology, November 2004.