A Newcastle University study of pregnant women with diabetes shows that there is an increase in birth defects in children borne from the diabetic mothers. The research indicates that pregnant women with diabetes are more likely to have birth defects than women without that condition. The blood glucose level around the time of conception is the key factor predicting the risk of congenial anomaly.

The study led by Newcastle University and funded by Diabetes UK, for the first time has evidence that quantifies the effect of glucose levels. The study carried out in mainly white women in England suggests that as many as one in 13 deliveries to women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes involves a major congenital anomaly, also known as a birth defect.

The researchers have found that during pregnancy, a woman with type 1 or type 2 diabetes has a risk of a birth defect which is about 7 per cent, as compared to an average of around 2 per cent in women without diabetes.

“The good news is that, with expert help before and during pregnancy, most women with diabetes will have a healthy baby. The risk of problems can be reduced by taking extra care to have optimum glucose control before becoming pregnant. Any reduction in high glucose levels is likely to improve the chances of a healthy baby,” stated Dr Ruth Bell, the study’s lead researcher, Newcastle University.

“All young women with diabetes need to know about preparing for pregnancy, and should contact their doctor or diabetes team as soon as possible if they are thinking about pregnancy or become pregnant,” she added.

The study involved an investigation of the recorded outcomes of 401,149 pregnancies, including 1,677 pregnancies in women with diabetes, between 1996 and 2008 in the north of England.

Newcastle University, is a major research-intensive with a world-class academic excellence centre in Ageing and Health, Sustainability and Social Renewal.