Infants of diabetic mothers

Abstract

Advances in the management of the mother with diabetes have reduced the rate of morbidity and mortality for her infant. Aggressive control of maternal glycemic status is warranted, because most morbidities are epidemiologically and pathophysiologically closely linked to fetal hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. The burgeoning public health problem of overweight and obesity in children will likely result in an increased incidence of metabolic syndrome X, characterized by insulin resistance and type II diabetes in adulthood. An early manifestation of this may be glucose intolerance during pregnancy in overweight women without diabetes. Clinicians must continue to have a high degree of suspicion for the diagnosis of diabetes during gestation and screen offspring of women with gestational diabetes for neonatal sequelae.