Washington, May 23 (ANI): Women with excess weight, both before pregnancy and gained during pregnancy, may be at risk of having larger than average babies, which can result in increased risk of cesarean section or trauma during delivery, say researchers including one of an Indian origin.
It is also found that women with diabetes in pregnancy or gestational diabetes are at increased risk of having a large-for-gestational-age baby.
Called macrosomia, it is defined as an infant whose weight is above the 90th percentile of Canadian fetal growth curves, or more than 4 kg. Current clinical practice focuses on managing glucose levels in women with these conditions to reduce the risk of having larger babies.
Recent studies have shown a link between maternal glucose levels in women without gestational diabetes and the risk of having a larger baby.
Proposed new criteria suggest lowering the glucose levels for diagnosing gestational diabetes to help identify women who might be at risk of having a large-for-gestational-age baby.
They found that excess weight before pregnancy and the amount of weight gain during pregnancy were the strongest metabolic predictors of whether a woman would have a large-for-gestational-age baby. Elevated glucose levels had a relatively modest impact as did lipid levels.
The findings appeared in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). (ANI)
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