Impact of maternal euglycemia on fetal outcome in diabetic pregnancy

Abstract We examined the relationship between maternal euglycemia and fetal outcome in 81 cases of gestational, diet-controlled (GD) diabetes and 32 cases of insulin-dependent diabetes (IDD). The perinatal mortality rate was reduced from 2.3% to zero in an 18 month period ending in December 1977. Perinatal morbidity in GD and IDD was comparable and independent of age, parity, and severity of diabetes. Fasting maternal glucose concentrations correlated positively with the incidence of fetal macrosomia (p = all diabetic patients. On the other hand, neonatal morbidity can be expected to be higher in women with gestational diabetes identified late in pregnancy. Likewise, congenital malformations in this group may represent the influence of uncontrolled glucose metabolism in the early months of gestation which remained undetected due to late registration for prenatal care.